UnLimited
by The Wandering Bard
Summary: The product of an experiment by his father, Kazuya's extraordinary abilities make him vital to the survival of humanity. Trained from the day he could understand words, all his life he has known only fighting. When he enters West Genetics Academy, the rest of his life unfolds. Is there more to life than war? Will he & humanity survive? Find out! Super!KazuyaxHaremx(picks one later)
1. Prologue: Humanity's Hope

**NOTE: **I know that Gengo is Kazuya & Kazuha's grandfather in canon, but for the purposes of this story I made him their father instead.

**UnLimited**

Humanity's Hope

* * *

Humanity is under attack.

Aliens from another dimension, dubbed 'Nova', were attacking the world. No one knew why they were doing it, only that it was very much a real threat. Conventional weaponry and tactics have proven to be ineffective against the Nova, which meant alternatives had to be explored. Backed up against the wall, humanity's leaders organized the Chevalier organization. An elite military organization tasked with combating and defeating the Nova. That's where he came in to the picture. Dr. Gengo Aoi. His expertise in genetics was unparalleled, and with the motivation to fight the aliens he was the perfect candidate for their intelligence and research division.

His work along with a few other brilliant minds created the Pandora and Limiter projects through genetics and stigmata manipulation, the means with which humanity could fight back against the alien aggressors. The success of the Pandora and Limiter projects gave humanity a fighting chance, and yet he knew it was not enough. To ensure the survival of the human race, he had to do more.

_That is why you have to do it. To save humanity. _He reminded himself that what he was about to do was necessary for the survival of mankind. Still, it left him uneasy that he was going to be using his own children in such a manner. His own flesh and blood. What would his wife say if she were still alive? He swiftly squashed the thought from his mind.

He did not want to think about that. Not in such a critical moment. He opened his eyes, having had them closed for the last few minutes as he battled internally with himself. _It must be done_. He eyed the two tiny bodies that were held in identical stasis chambers. They were immersed in a green liquid, floating unconsciously with numerous tubes and sensors attached to them.

Today was the culmination of the work he had done for the last three years on them.

Since their birth, he had started the experiment and much to his pleasure and surprise things progressed well. Very well. So well in fact that he not only extended the project, he upgraded it. Now he was at the last stage. There were two possible outcomes to this night, one of which was death.

_I won't allow it_, he thought as his body stiffened. _It'll work. It has to..._

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He needed to focus. Success would be guaranteed if he performed the final stage flawlessly.

Alone in his personal laboratory, he began the final stage of his project. It took him several hours. His body protested from the strain, particularly since he had to do everything himself without any assistants, but he ignored it. Mind prevailed over matter. When he finished, he fell to the ground in exhaustion. His breathing was ragged, his body shaking and drenched with sweat.

His tired eyes looked up at the two stasis chambers.

Everything had gone smoothly. There were no issues that popped up. No unexpected problems. It seemed almost as if it was meant to be. He sat on the ground for a while, his back resting against a computer terminal as he simply watched his children with relief. After a while, he struggled to get up. He swayed slightly, unbalanced, but managed to keep himself upright.

He walked around to the main computer and checked the results. His eyes scanning the multitude of numbers and data that the computer was displaying on the screen. Everything seemed to check out. All vital signs were stable. Stigma tissue had been completely accepted by their bodies - no compatibility issues whatsoever. The project had been a roaring success.

Still, he did not feel as triumphant as he thought he would be when he imagined this moment. All he really felt was a joyous relief that they had survived, and a strong sense of hope that humanity may yet be victorious in the end. Looking back at his children, he took comfort in knowing that they would live to have a future.

That made him think about the fact that what he had done to them meant they really only had one future. He had chosen that future for them, and he hoped that they would understand why he did it. He hoped that they would understand and believe in it. That they would embrace their future.

Their future as humanity's hope.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I really like this anime and hopefully I can do it justice - I have not read the manga.


	2. Vengeance, the Motive

**UnLimited**

Vengeance, the Motive

* * *

_"Come on Kazuya! You have to be faster than that if you want to beat me!" the young girl said with a giggle as they ran around the track._

_"I'm trying my best, Kazuha!" he exclaimed, his little legs moving as fast as he could make them._

_When they were finished, Kazuya crumpled to the ground from the exertion. Kazuha rushed to his side, worry written all over her face. "Are you okay, Kazuya?" She held him gently in her arms._

_He managed to nod, still feeling dizzy and weak. She didn't let go of him. After a few moments his breathing slowed and he was able to speak._

_"I'm sorry sis," he apologized, "I promise I'll be stronger."_

_Kazuha giggled and rubbed his hair, "I know you will. But try not to go too overboard, okay?"_

_"Okay," replied Kazuya, smiling._

He opened his eyes.

Sunlight glowed from behind the curtains of his window, bright enough that it still illuminated the room pretty well even though it was only leaking through the sides of the curtain. He moved his arms up and above his head and stretched, then he sat up on the bed. Rubbing his eyes, he moved the blankets off of him and moved to the side of the bed, his feet going over the edge and pressing onto the carpeted floor.

He looked around his room. It was quite plain, with only a few posters and one framed picture on the walls. The posters were of action heroes in movies and TV as well as a poster of the famed Chevalier First Brigade, the one his sister would have been in had she... He gripped the covers of his bed, his gaze drifting over to the framed picture hanging over his bed.

It was a picture of him and his sister playing on a beach. He was only five at the time, and his sister was eleven. They were in the middle of building a sandcastle when the photo was taken, and the smiles on their faces were of genuine happiness.

He closed his eyes.

_"Don't forget that if you mix some wet sand with dry sand, the mixture turns out to be pretty strong. Great for making sandcastles!" she reminded him as she molded one section of the castle walls into shape._

_He smiled, blue pale in hand. "I'll go get some more wet sand, sis!"_

_He stood and ran towards the water, but then he stepped on a shard of glass and stumbled because of it. He cried out in pain, eyes already soaked with tears that began to stream down his face as he lay on his side._

_Kazuha was there in a hurry, comforting him as usual. She looked over the wound, thankful that it wasn't very deep._

_Their father arrived momentarily afterwards with a bandage and some wraps, and as he attended to the boy, Kazuha went and removed the offending piece of glass and threw it out properly. She returned to his side, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it reassuringly._

_"You'll be fine, Kazuya. Remember your training? Be strong little one."_

_"Uh-huh," he replied softly, willing himself to stop crying and ignore the pain. He would be strong._

He opened his eyes again.

Why were all these memories starting to flood him again? He sighed, lifting his right foot and looking at the bottom of it. There was no evidence of the wound he had gotten that day all those years ago. He stood up and walked out to the bathroom, splashing water onto his face to help him wake up some more. He had a long day ahead.

"Kazuya, are you up?" called a woman's voice from downstairs.

"Yes, Onya. I'll be right down!" he replied back loud enough to be heard. Onya was the family maid - she had practically raised both Kazuha and Kazuya while their father was away at work. She and Rudolphe were practically part of the family.

The thought of his training master made him tense up and look around out of habit. Rudolphe was always talking about being ready to fight at a moment's notice. He was alone, however, and at home. There was no need to fight here. He returned to his room to get dressed, putting on a simple white polo shirt and loose-fitting pants to give him flexibility in movement in case he needed it.

Once satisfied with his state of dress, he walked downstairs. The aroma of breakfast wafting up into his nostrils making him hungry almost instantly.

"Good morning, Onya," he greeted the old lady.

She smiled warmly in return, the many wrinkles on her face and the way she was slightly hunched over showing her age. "A good morning to you too, Kazuya dear. Now dig in! I know you must be hungry."

He didn't have to be told twice as he wolfed down two whole servings of food before stopping. Her home-cooked meals were always very good. By the time he was through, his plate was devoid of any food.

_Kazuya put his utensils down, not feeling hungry at the moment even though he had barely eaten anything all day. His body felt very sore and banged up from the training session with Rudolphe and that was messing somewhat with his appetite._

_"Kazuya," his sister said his name, causing him to turn to her. "You need to eat!"_

_"But I'm not feeling hungry."_

_"Even so, don't waste the food you already have on your plate. If you can't eat a lot, then don't put a lot on your plate," she reprimanded him, "But if you put food on your plate you better eat it. Besides," her look softened, "It's good for you. You need your nutrients if you want to get stronger."_

_He looked at her plate. Sure enough, it was spotless. After a few seconds of pouting he nodded. "Okay, Kazuha. You're right. I want to be strong, just like you! So I'll eat all my food from now on."_

_Her smile at his comment made him happy with his decision and he finished the remaining food on his plate._

"Got a lot on your mind, Kazuya?" asked Onya as she began to clear away the food, bringing him back to the present.

He hadn't realized he had zoned out like that. "Uh... yeah. You could say that..."

"Rudolphe should be arriving soon. You best get ready for your final day with him."

He stood up. "Right! Thanks for the delicious food as always, Onya."

The old maid watched as he left the room, a sadness she had been keeping hidden finally showing in her eyes.

Kazuya walked towards the front of the house and waited in the living room for his sensei to arrive. He was feeling a bit restless as he waited so he started to pace around the room. He wondered what Rudolphe had planned for the final day of training. They had been training together since as far back as Kazuya could remember.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang, causing him to stop in his tracks. He walked to the front door swiftly. Unlocking it, he swung it open to reveal his sensei standing there with a small smile on his face.

"Sensei," greeted the young boy, bowing at the waist and then stepping aside to let the man through.

"Good morning, Kazuya." He was tall, around six foot three, and built tough with his large, muscled body. He had a chiseled jaw and very short blonde hair, cut military style. Several scars ran this way and that all over his exposed skin, evidence of the many battles he has been a part of. His gray eyes reminded Kazuya of hard steel. Eyes that had seen hell and survived. And yet even with all his toughness, Kazuya knew he was really a kind and nice man at heart.

His smile widened, "Ready for our last day?"

Closing the door, Kazuya walked back in front of him. "I am."

"Good." The smile got even wider. "Let's head out back."

They passed through the kitchen since it was faster, Rudolphe saying hello to Onya who, like many times before, asked him to take it easy on Kazuya.

As they walked outside into the vast yard, the bright sunlight finally hit Kazuya for the first time in full force. He was momentarily blinded as his eyes adjusted, but even without his sight he could sense the attack from behind him. Launching himself to the side out of pure instinct and reaction, he rolled across the ground and was back on his feet.

Sure enough, Rudolphe's fist was extended into the air that he had previously been occupying. The German nodded his approval, then shifted into a fighting stance. His eyes locked with Kazuya's. No words were exchanged as the combatants circled each other.

This time, it was Kazuya who attacked. Concentrating hard, he rushed towards Rudolphe, who moved off to the side a little to change the angle of attack. Kazuya had been expecting that, however, and taking that into consideration he jumped up and spun in the air, extending a leg out to kick. While the move surprised Rudolphe, he still moved fast enough to block the attack that was aimed for his head.

He countered immediately, barely giving Kazuya time to settle himself. His pupil was fast, and yet he knew he could be even faster if he tapped into his power. But that would not be a fair fight, and both of them knew it. Rudolphe was there to impart knowledge, tactics, and techniques. All things that Kazuya needed to harness the true power of his raw abilities. Abilities that not even Rudolphe knew about, though he could hazard a guess.

Gengo, his friend and Kazuya's father, had told him little, but from training the kid for years now and from what he gleaned from his talks with his father he had a rough picture of the minimum power the young boy possessed. And it heartened him that he was helping to train someone who he knew would help turn the tide against the dreaded Nova.

Again and again they attacked and counter-attacked, neither really gaining any ground. This was significant of course, considering that a fifteen year old boy was going toe-to-toe with a nearly fifty-year old, hardened combat veteran. Again, the boy's strength impressed him and he wondered how much of it Kazuya was actually using. It had become evident to Rudolphe two years ago that the young boy had been holding back.

_"Come on, kid! Stop trying to hit me and just hit me already! I thought you'd be strong enough by now," he mocked the little boy, trying to get into his head. He noticed the kid gritted his teeth, but otherwise the taunt had little effect._

_Rudolphe had been wanting to know how strong Kazuya truly was. He must be some prodigy of some kind, otherwise, Gengo would not have personally requested that he train the boy. Especially starting at such a young age. Feeling a bit reckless, he decided to push Kazuya further than he ever had before and hoping, in the back of his mind, that he wouldn't die from doing so._

_His training of the kid had been excellent, however. He was a quick learner. Dedicated. Strong. Agile. Disciplined. Tough. Kazuya was by far the greatest pupil Rudolphe had ever trained, and that was saying something coming from one of the most talented and skilled fighters in the world. After all these years of training, pushing his buttons and making him lose control was a lot tougher._

_But he knew what he had to do. The one thing he had to talk about to get Kazuya to unleash his power._

_"What would your sister say right now?" he began to taunt. He knew it would hurt him, that it would hit the spot, but he needed to know. No, he _wanted _to know. To see and feel the power for himself. Much like a master wants to see his pupil reach his true potential._

_He noticed the slight twitch of Kazuya's facial muscles. The tightening of the jaw even further. The tightening around the eyes as they narrowed ever so slightly from hearing the remark. Then he began to move faster. Each move seemingly faster than the other one, to the point where Rudolphe was actually starting to back up a lot more, barely able to stave off the young boy's strikes. The hits were getting harder too, and the German winced mentally from the hits that he blocked._

_"Not bad, kid. But still not strong enough. If only Kazuha could see you now," he taunted, "How disappointed would she be?"_

_"Shut! UP!" Kazuya yelled. The first time he had ever yelled at him while fighting._

_He jumped away from a particularly nasty combination of blows, but Kazuya gave him no respite as he responded swifter than Rudolphe had ever seen before. There was a gleam in his eyes that was not there before. In fact, it seemed almost as if his pupils were glowing._

_Rudolphe was already using every trick in the book, pushed to his own limit in fending off the increasingly ferocious attacks from the angry little boy whose eyes indeed began to glow. And even then he could tell that Kazuya still had more to give, but he didn't dare push any further lest he leave the battle as a spirit. A blow snuck past his defense, landing on his side and causing him to hiss in pain and stumble backwards._

_But as he readied himself for the next attack, he realized that Kazuya had somehow ended up behind him. He was halfway turning around when Kazuya launched his attack. The big German was sent sprawling several dozen feet away, bruises and scrapes all over his body. He got up with a lot of effort, breathing faster than he had breathed in a long time from all the exertion in this one fight with a thirteen year old boy._

_Kazuya stood before him, eyes glowing and body in a fighting stance. He was completely calm, breathing a little faster than normal but it was clear that he had not been strained from the exertion during the fighting as Rudolphe had been. Letting out a low growl, he sped towards the German. Years of training the kid also made him accustomed to certain attack patterns that Kazuya liked, and in this particular instance that knowledge saved him from severe injury._

_He recognized not a second too late this particular attack pattern and moved accordingly, even though he couldn't quite see Kazuya execute the attack. It still resulted in him flying across the lawn into a crumpled heap, blood filing his mouth and a massive ache all along the left side of his body, but the attack could have done much more damage than that._

_"Enough, Kazuya. That is enough," he said sternly, enhancing his voice a little in case his words might not get through to the boy._

_The thirteen year old relaxed, his eyes losing their glow almost immediately. His arms fell to his sides and he walked over to his sensei quickly. "I'm sorry, sensei."_

_Rudolphe smiled, truly the best pupil he ever trained. "No need to apologize, Kazuya. I pushed and you responded. You did well today. I'm proud of you."_

Without tapping into his power, Kazuya was already nearly on par with Rudolphe in terms of technique. His raw ability was tremendous and his desire to learn and execute was impressive to say the least. In strength and speed, he knew that Kazuya already surpassed him, some of it thanks to the boy's own youth while some was the result from all the training he had been doing. The rest was simply because of his power, the stigma tissue that Rudolphe knew resided in the young boy.

Kazuya noticed that his sensei seemed a little distracted today, and that was something he knew he could take advantage of to gain the upper hand. Feinting an attack from the right, he actually attacked from the left. Spinning after being barely blocked on the first attack, his follow-up roundhouse spin kick was also blocked. But as that happened, he launched himself into the air and used his plant foot to attack.

The move surprised the sensei thanks to being not totally focused on the fight. Kazuya's foot connected with the man's chin, lifting him up off the ground a few inches from the impact and causing the German's head to snap back. He let out a growl of pain, tasting blood as his teeth had clamped down on his tongue enough to draw blood.

He grinned at his student. "Good. Now, for weapons." Drawing a sword from the sheath that had been strapped across his back, he waited for Kazuya to draw his own.

The fifteen year old concentrated, his eyes glowing briefly as he stretched out his right arm with an open palm. "Volt weapon Nova Vengeance, activate," he said. Blue energy engulfed his outstretched hand and then stretched out into a long blade. The blue energy shifted into steel as Kazuya expertly handled the sword that had appeared in his hands.

It was long, with a thicker than usual body, and curved. A hybrid between a regular sword and the sword that his sister had used, which was much larger than this one. At first, Rudolphe had always brought an extra weapon with him, but ever since that day when he saw Kazuya's true power two years ago he told Gengo that he needed to be able to train him as much as he could to utilize his powers effectively.

That included weapons training. Since getting approval from the boy's father, they had trained everyday with weapons. It just so happened that Rudolphe was a master swordsman and that Kazuya's Nova weapon was a sword as well.

Swords up and at the ready, they ran at each other and clashed. Steel meeting steel rang out across the yard. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Onya looked on with both pride and worry. Pride because of how well Kazuya was doing and worry because fighting with such weapons was extremely dangerous. In her right hand was a wireless phone in case she might need it.

Sparks flew as they attacked each other with increasing ferocity, but again after a while it became evident that Kazuya could beat his sensei. Sure enough, several minutes into their duel the panting master swordsman received a cut along the jaw that signaled the end of the fight.

Reaching into one of his pockets, Rudolphe withdrew a small first aid kit encased in a slightly banged up steel box. After taking care of his wound he looked back at Kazuya, who had already released his weapon. The young boy's face held no emotion, though the German could see the emotion there in his eyes.

"Excellent job today, Kazuya," he complimented the young boy, "Come now, let's go inside. We're finished out here."

Back inside, they sat down in the dining room, sitting perpendicular to each other. They sat in silence for a while, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Rudolphe was the first to break the silence with his hard voice.

"I've taught you everything I know, Kazuya. You have been an excellent student, one of the best I've ever trained. I hope that you will continue to make me proud as you move on from here," he began. "There are two things I want to impart upon you before we part ways. The first is a little knowledge.

You've been training since you could walk and talk, I know that. But there's more to life than training and fighting. You only have one life, Kazuya, and I hope you learn to live it. I know that part of your destiny is to fight the Nova, but I want you to understand that life isn't all about fighting. It isn't all about war. You should have fun, fall in love, make some mistakes along the way too. Do you hear me?"

Kazuya nodded, though he was not sure how exactly to live it up. All his life thus far, he knew of only training and fighting. He had little time for games, television, movies, or even friends. He had a duty to fulfill. A responsibility that came with his power. His father and his sister had taught him that.

Not too satisfied with that response, Rudolphe continued anway. "The second thing, is this." He reached into another pocket and pulled out yet another small box. He placed it on the table and slid it over to Kazuya, who looked at it curiously.

"What is it?" asked the young boy, his hands moving towards the box.

"Open it."

He did. Inside the box was a necklace. A necklace he knew all too well.

"It was your Kazuha's," explained Rudolphe. "I happened to be near the area at the time the Nova type-S appeared outside of Tokyo. I was deployed with an emergency armored response team to assist the engaging Pandora's by providing some extra firepower. She passed by my command tent on the way to fight the S-type and gave me this." He gestured towards the necklace. "She said to give it to you when you head off to West Genetics... I think... I think that when she got there, she knew that she would not return from this particular fight. And she was still thinking of you."

Kazuya wiped some tears from his eyes with his free hand as his other held the necklace gently between his fingers. It was a simple butterfly made of yellowish gems mixed with olive green ones with a silver chain.

_"Daddy," the little boy said in an even smaller voice._

_Gengo knelt down, "What is it, Kazuya?"_

_"I want to get something for sis' birthday!"_

_His father smiled, revealing pearly white teeth. "And what do you want to get her?"_

_"Well, last time I went with Onya to the market I saw... I saw this necklace..." he had his hands behind his back and was looking downward, unsure if his request would be granted._

_"Is this really what you want to give to your big sister?"_

_"Uh-huh!"_

_Gengo reached out and ruffled his hair, "Alright. Let's go to the market tomorrow and get it okay?"_

_They did just that, and when Kazuha's birthday came around little Kazuya was so excited to give her the present that he burst into her room while she was still asleep. At first she woke up a bit grumpy and maybe even a little angry since it was so early, but upon seeing that it was Kazuya her expression changed completely._

_"Good morning, big sis! Happy birthday!" he greeted her, raising the small rectangular box up to her. It was tied up nicely with a pink ribbon._

_"Oh, thank you Kazuya. You got this for me?" she asked, surprised and touched at the gift. She untied the ribbon and opened the box._

_Kazuya seemed nervous. "Do you like it, sis?"_

_"I love it!" she cried, immediately putting it on. "How does it look?"_

_"It looks great! You really like it?"_

_"I do. Thank you so much, Kazuya. You're the best little brother a big sister could ask for," she said, pulling him into a hug._

_He hugged her back tightly. "No, big sis. You're the best."_

_"Tell you what, Kazuya. I promise I'll never take this necklace off."_

_He was surprised at that. "What? Really? Why?"_

_She ruffled his hair, "Because I love you, silly."_

He fought back another wave of tears as his hand closed into a fist over the necklace.

"Since you're going to the Genetics academy tomorrow, I thought this was an appropriate time to give it to you." The old German could tell how much this meant to Kazuya, and could only imagine how he must be feeling at the moment. They had been very close, and without a mother in their lives Kazuha had essentially been both big sister and mother to little Kazuya. Though little he was no more.

"Thank you, sensei," managed Kazuya, his voice barely a whisper.

The German stood up then and walked around the table, placing a big hand on the boy's shoulder. "Live your life, Kazuya. But when the time comes, remember your training and believe in your strength, because I certainly believe in it. I know you'll make us all proud. Even your sister." He paused. "I need to go now. Until next time."

With that said, he left Kazuya alone still clutching the necklace.

Finally, after what a long while, he unclenched his fist and stared at the necklace that rested on his palm. It was a reminder of his past. A reminder of what was expected of him. A reminder of his sister. A reminder of his promise to be strong. A reminder... of what the Nova had taken from him.

"Kazuha," he said resolutely. "I will avenge you."

* * *

**Author's notes: **I've been thinking about writing this story for quite a while now. I hope that you will like it. As with all my stories, please don't hesitate to review. Constructive comments are welcome.


	3. West Genetics Academy

**UnLimited**

West Genetics Academy

* * *

It was seven-thirty in the morning and she was already working in her office.

She was known simply as Sister Margaret, Headmistress of West Genetics Academy. She was indeed a nun, hence the title of Sister, though in truth she rarely carried out her religious duties anymore. That was left to others as most of her time was spent working on running the Academy.

She was a hardworking and strong-willed woman who cared for her students. After all, as Headmistress it was her duty to work to improve not simply the Academy as a whole but also the lives of each of her students. While she meant business a lot of the time and was serious with her work, that did not mean she was emotionless. No, not at all. She was as full of emotion as any of her students, the only difference being that she knew how to control those emotions better than the youngsters.

Still, in some cases emotion still got the best of her. Nobody was perfect after all, and today was one of those days.

The impending arrival of a certain transfer student was reminding her of emotions that she felt for one of her former students. One that she had cared a lot for because she was the epitome of what a Pandora should be. Courageous. Humble. Intelligent. Selfless. Kind. Caring. Responsible. And strong, _very _strong.

She opened a locked drawer in her desk, one that was rarely ever opened, and removed a certain file. Opening it, she looked at the photo that was included with the personnel file. A sense of sadness filled her. _She had gone so young..._ she thought as she continued to look at the photo, memories from years ago flooding back to her.

Even physically she was not like any other typical Pandora. An average Pandora was able to have two to four stigma housed in their body. An elite Pandora would have five or six. But she had twenty. An astronomical number in comparison, and her power was beyond anything that she had ever seen. Yet even with all that power she remained grounded and did not lose herself to it.

And that was what first made Sister Margaret truly care for Kazuha Aoi. Not merely caring for her as a student, but almost like a family member. A daughter that she never had. Now Kazuha's younger sibling was transferring to West Genetics after reaching the age of enrollment, and she wondered what he would be like in comparison.

Kazuya Aoi. She was aware of his special stigma body, but unsure of the extent of the power that he wielded because of it. Gengo Aoi was particularly quiet on the subject, giving only the barest of details. A completely different approach from the time when Kazuha first enrolled at the Academy, when Gengo boasted to anyone who cared to hear about how talented his daughter really was.

Because he was the younger brother of Kazuha, she was already interested in his case. Knowing that his stigma body could be similar if not potentially even better than Kazuha's intrigued her even more. She had a feeling that his arrival on campus would stir things up considerably. She made particular note to keep a close watch on the boy and make sure he stayed out of trouble, at least for Kazuha's sake she would do so.

The boy had been through a lot since her passing, and Sister Margaret knew that they had been extremely close. She had trouble herself dealing with the incident, and she could only imagine what Kazuha went through.

Her intercom buzzed to life. "Sister Margaret. Dr. Aoi is on line one for you."

"Thank you, Winnie," she replied as she lifted the receiver of her phone and pressed the blinking "1" button.

"Hello, Gengo."

"Good morning, Margaret."

The voice on the other line sounded tired. Even more so than usual. She wondered what it was that was troubling him, though she could hazard a guess that a part of his worries concerned the transfer of his son Kazuya to her Academy.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call? I know you must be extremely busy with your research." She wanted to get straight to the point on this matter. No sense in wasting time with small talk, especially when she already had an idea of what he wanted to talk about.

"I'm simply calling to confirm that my son will be picked up by your people at the appointed location and will be treated as previously agreed upon?"

"Of course, Gengo. Everything is as I detailed to you in our previous correspondence. If there are any issues or changes, I will let you know. But... I do not foresee any." It was true, but even Kazuha had her share of trouble when she was here and she had a sinking feeling that Kazuya would be no different, if not perhaps even worse. The Aoi family seemed to have a knack for involving themselves in trouble after all.

"Good." There was a touch of relief in his voice. "I'll try and pay a visit sometime soon, when my schedule permits it," said the tired voice on the other line. "Thank you for this, Margaret."

"Remember, I'm doing this not for you but... for her..." Her eyes strayed back to the file open on her desk.

"I understand completely. Thank you again. Good day." The line went dead.

Replacing the receiver to the telephone base, she glanced at the digital clock on her desk. After calculating travel time in her head, she then activated the intercom. "Winnie, please summon miss Fairchild to me and tell Transport Team Delta to prep for departure in thirty minutes."

"As you wish, Sister Margaret."

She swiveled in her chair to look out the grand windows of her office, admiring the view of the campus. It was such a beautiful, sunny day.

-**xxxxxx**-

Dr. Gengo Aoi, Director of the Scientific Research Department of the Chevalier organization, stared at the telephone that he had finished using only a few seconds ago. His elbows rested on the old, dark desk before him. His hands were intertwined, upon which he rested his head by the chin. He was deep in thought.

On his desk were scattered papers full of charts, graphs, and text of all different fonts and sizes. Several files, both opened and closed, were also strewn about. A few crumpled up pieces of paper, some pens and pencils, and a few post-it notes also were in the mix. An almost-full ashtray lay off to the side, the smell of cigarette smoke hung heavily in the air.

He had quit a long time ago, but Kazuha's death hit him hard and he started up again. Kazuya did not know this, of course. He had hardly seen his son ever since his beloved daughter had passed.

Gengo had been a mess after the incident, but instead of taking a few days off and maybe going on vacation, he decided to throw himself into his work even more. To drown out the pain and sorrow he felt from her loss, the one true reminder of his late wife, he had resorted to burying himself under a mountain of work. Of course, part of it was also because in doing his work he was fighting against the Nova, which gave him some sense of revenge.

At first his body had not been able to handle it, and he had fallen ill many times, but eventually his will prevailed and his body obeyed the mind. He was a lot more level-headed now than he was right after his daughter's death so he was more careful with his health, but he was still not fully recovered from the incident. He sometimes wondered if he ever really would fully recover.

What really ate at him was how he had failed his daughter. The reason he had done the experiment on his children all those years ago was to prevent such a catastrophe from befalling his family in the first place. The only way his daughter was supposed to pass on from this world was due to old age, after a long life of service fighting and eventually defeating the Nova. But it was apparently not meant to be.

And now, his only remaining family was about to enter into the life he was meant to live. He was about to fulfill the duty that he, Gengo, had been instilling in him since the day his little boy could understand words. That same life and duty that had so cruelly taken away Kazuha now had Kazuya in its grasp. He could only pray that his son's fate would turn out differently.

The one true comfort Gengo had was in the knowledge that his son was meant to far outclass his sister in every measurable way. Kazuya was only two years old when he began the stigma experiments on the both of them. Kazuha was eight at the time. That meant that Kazuya had six extra years of stigma maturation and development. He was, therefore, supposed to be stronger than Kazuha and thus less likely to die against the Nova.

The only unknown had been the fact that he was a male. The whole Pandora project had the females as the warriors, since the stigma tissue seemed to react far more favorably towards them. The males in the project were for support, and while they played important roles they were not exactly necessary. The girls could go independently into Pandora mode to move in a Nova freezing field after all, thereby making the presence of Limiters not exactly vital.

Kazuya was, unsurprisingly, special in this regard. Because of the extent of the stigma tissue in his body and was infused with it at such a young age, not to mention having a high compatibility rate with the foreign tissue, he was able to harness not only the powers of a Limiter but of a Pandora as well.

Even with that thought to comfort him though, the brilliant Dr. Aoi was uneasy. Kazuya's being a male with both Pandora and Limiter powers was unprecedented, and he was unsure of what should or even could happen to his boy in the coming years. The uniqueness and novelty of the situation meant that there was no precedent, no previous experience to draw upon. In truth, Gengo had no idea what the extent of his son's powers were or if his body could even handle it all.

That worried the accomplished scientist to no end. What if the powers that were supposed to make him strong turned out to be what destroyed him? Then it would be all his fault once more. Then he'd be alone again. And he didn't know if he could handle such a loss a second time.

_Ping!_

His computer terminal alerted him to a message, breaking his line of thought. It was from the security team he had sent to escort his son. They had picked him up and were en route to the graveyard. His hands reached for the keyboard and he typed in several commands. A moment later and the screen showed two different windows, one screen was a camera feed of his face and the other was still loading as it waited for the signal from the other end of the line.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya had what few clothes he owned neatly packed away in his duffel bag. Along with that were any other accessories and necessities he needed. He carefully packed the small framed photo of him and his sister that was on his desk as well. He was sitting at his desk, eyes fixated on the rectangular box that lay on the wooden surface.

"Kazuha..." he whispered.

Onya's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Kazuya! The car is here!"

He stood up immediately, grabbing the box and carefully placing it into his bag. After making sure that the bag was shut securely, he made one last sweep of his room in case he forgot to bring something that he had planned on bringing. Satisfied he had everything, he slung the bag over his shoulder and headed out the door.

Onya was outside, her hands clasped in front of her waist. She smiled when she saw Kazuya emerge from the house, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

A black, unmarked SUV was parked outside. Two men in suits and wearing dark sunglasses stood on either side of it. Upon seeing Kazuya, one of the men opened the door to the side that was facing him.

Kazuya walked over to Onya, dropping his bag and engulfing the old maid in a big hug. "I'm going to miss you, Onya."

"And I will miss you too, dear little Kazuya." They separated from each other. "You take care of yourself now. And please try to stay out of trouble?"

The young boy grinned, "I'll do my best." Picking up his duffel he walked over to the open door, thanking the man in the suit. He turned one last time and bade Onya goodbye before entering the SUV. The door closed after he was safely inside and the men in the suits got back into the car as well.

Kazuya smiled when he saw a bouquet of flowers resting next to him in the backseat.

A screen situated behind the driver's seat flickered to life as the SUV rolled out of the driveway and onto the street. On the screen appeared the familiar face of his father, Dr. Gengo Aoi. He looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep, which was probably a fact. He pushed himself really hard and worked seemingly around-the-clock. Kazuya had no idea how he did it without burning himself out all the time.

"Hello, Kazuya," his father said tiredly.

"Good morning, papa. Is everything alright?" asked the young boy, genuinely concerned. He really looked far more tired than he usually did.

His father waved it off, "Yes, yes. Don't worry about me, Kazuya."

"Thanks for getting me the flowers and for allowing me this request before I head off to West Genetics," said Kazuya.

His father smiled wearily, "You're welcome, my son. I... wish I could be there to visit her as well, and to see you off."

"I wish you were here too, papa. But I know you have important work to do."

Gengo sighed. "Yes, important work that I must return to shortly. I wanted to talk to you though, and tell you a few things. While I had hoped to be able to tell you this in person, that is not the case and this will have to do. First and foremost, please keep the extent of your abilities secret for as long as you possibly can. Trust me when I say you do not want the extra attention if you can get away with it.

Two, I'm planning on visiting a few weeks from now. It's been too long since we last saw each other and I think I'll be able to get away long enough to see you. Three, take heed of anything Sister Margaret tell you, she's a good friend and a wise person. Four, try not to do anything stupid or get into too much trouble. And lastly, try to enjoy the Academy while you can kiddo. Time flies by faster than you think."

"Okay, dad. Anything else?" He was still processing the advice that his father was giving him.

"No, that's all I have to say. The Academy will pick you up from the specified rendezvous point as scheduled, so you should have ample time to say your prayers before heading out," he explained, "Take care of yourself, Kazuya." With that the connection was terminated.

Neither of the men in suits spoke, leaving Kazuya in silence with his thoughts for the remainder of the car ride.

It took about twenty minutes to reach their destination, the car pulling through the gates of the graveyard and navigating slowly through the small streets. All around them were well-kept grounds filled with tombstones of varying shapes, sizes, and even colors though the majority were either white or black. The car slowed to a halt at the base of a small hill in the middle of the graveyard.

Looking out the window, Kazuya spotted the marble tombstone that he had visited many times before. This time felt different, however. There was a sense of apprehension that filled him as he grabbed the bouquet and reached for the door. He paused a moment before opening it. The agent in the passenger seat also got out.

Kazuya, with flowers in hand, slowly walked up the hill where near the top was located the grave marker dedicated to his sister. It was a rather large marble tombstone, paid for by the Chevalier in appreciation for her heroic actions. He carefully laid the bouquet down before the tombstone and took a step back.

"Good morning, Kazuha," he whispered a greeting.

A gentle breeze blew across the hill, the cool breath of the wind tickling his skin. Leaves on a nearby tree rustled ever so slightly.

He looked around. The sky was clear, the sun shining proudly and bathing everything in its light. There was no one else in the graveyard besides him and the agents over by the SUV assigned to escort him.

"It's another beautiful day," he turned back to the tombstone, "I hope that you are doing well wherever you are. Dad's even busier than usual, he seems a lot more tired than he normally is... I wonder if that's because things are getting worse or maybe turning for the better." He paused, his gaze drifting down to the fresh bouquet he had placed on the tombstone.

"I've grown up a lot now and I'm going soon to be attending your school, West Genetics Academy," continued the young man, "I'm not sure what to expect, but I know that I want to be as strong as you were... and I hope that I can make you proud..."

He could feel the tears welling in his eyes.

"I miss you, big sis..." he brushed away a tear that had rolled down his cheek and closed his eyes.

_He ran to her room, having heard what she was going to do. He knocked on her door frantically and then opened it without waiting for a response._

_"Sis! Sis! Please don't go!" said a frightened little Kazuya, the fear of possibly never seeing his sister again gripping him tightly._

_She was in the process of changing and turned around in surprise as he entered the room. "Kazuya!"_

_"Big sis! Please don't go... please!" he repeated his plea as he ran to her and hugged her, his arms wrapping around her waist as he only stood up to about her abdomen. "I don't want to lose you..."_

_She knelt down and placed her hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "I won't die." She smiled as she gently wiped a tear off of his cheek. "Because I'm unbeatable." She said it with such confidence that Kazuya could feel some of his fear disappear, but it was not completely gone._

_He frowned, looking down with tears flowing freely. "Please don't go," he said again._

_Kazuha's smile never faltered. "I need to go, baby brother. This world, the people... they need me. You know that."_

_"I know..." said a deflated Kazuya._

_"I need to go. As a Pandora, I have the power to protect the people against the Nova... to protect dad and you. And as long as I am responsible for keeping you all safe, I will not lose." She stood up and walked over by the window, which was slightly open. A strong breeze blew in and made her hair wave about, and she turned her head to look at him from over her shoulder. "I love you, Kazuya. Be strong... for me, okay?"_

That was the last time he saw her.

Kazuya opened his eyes, the rhythmic sound of thudding air indicating that the transport from the Academy was approaching. Looking away, he scanned the sky. A small but growing speck hung over the horizon. He cast one last sad look at the tombstone before turning and walking back down the hill towards the car. They drove out of the graveyard and towards a nearby open field, the SUV going off the road and driving out across the field.

Overhead, a VTOL transport circled and began to descend, it's two large propeller engines going vertical. Within the next minute, the VTOL had landed a few dozen feet away where the SUV had stopped.

Both agents stepped out as well as Kazuya and they waited by the car, their eyes fixated on the air transport.

The engines still running, a side door to the VTOL opened and out extended a small staircase. From inside the transport a young woman with nearly shoulder-length brown hair emerged, raising a hand to shield her face from the wind that picked up around the transport due to the propellers. Her other hand held her skirt down. Spotting Kazuya, she waved and waited at the bottom of the staircase for him as he thanked the agents and walked to the VTOL.

She was nearly Kazuya's height, perhaps an inch or two shorter, and wore her traditional Academy uniform. Her eyes were squinting and she was smiling, showing a glimpse of perfect white teeth, as he approached. She had an air of self-assurance about her along with a friendliness that set Kazuya at ease.

"Hello, Kazuya Aoi?" she yelled questioningly since the engines were still roaring.

"Yes, ma'am. That's me," he replied loud enough for her to hear, studying her up close. _She's cute! _he thought, _and that smile..._

She motioned for him to board so he went up the staircase. She followed quickly, withdrawing the staircase and shutting the door with a push of a button.

Inside there was a sizable compartment with the middle empty and the sides lined with seats. Kazuya took a seat and the smiling girl sat opposite him. After strapping themselves in, she finally spoke again and broke the silence as she put her hands together on her lap.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kazuya Aoi. I'm Chiffon Fairchild, student council president of West Genetics Academy," she introduced herself, "And please, don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old." She giggled slightly.

_Really cute... and nice too! _Kazuya thought, feeling a little heat on his cheeks. He hadn't had much contact with members of the opposite sex before. Other than Onya and the occasional friend of his father's who came by the house, he honestly had not had any interactions with a female. This would take some getting used to.

She cocked her head to the side, "Is something the matter?"

He realized he had been staring at her and quickly looked away, raising a hand to rub the back of his head. He shook his head, "Uhh.. No! No! It's nothing."

She gave a small nod, "Right, well I was told that you've been home-schooled until now. Before we arrive I think it would be wise to do a little review..." She proceeded to remind him about Limiters and Pandoras, their roles, and the process by which a Limiter is chosen by a Pandora at the Academy.

While Kazuya had studied a little bit about the whole Pandora project, he was not too familiar with the finer details. His father had given him the general basics and he had picked up some more information from some textbooks he had looked over - mainly about the Genetics Academies in Japan, of which there were two. He knew what the Pandora project was about and what his role would be in it, and that's all that mattered as he focused on his training for the last several years.

This little refresher by Chiffon was definitely welcome. He was also not sure exactly what he would be classified as, since he was not even sure what was the true extent of his power. His attending the Academy was both because it was required by the government and because it was a great opportunity for him to learn about his powers and to train to use them better.

Though of course he had to do a lot of that secretly, since as his father had said he did not want the unwanted attention. Still, he hoped that he would not have to hide his abilities for long. Doing so seemed like it would be a ton of work, not to mention he felt a little ashamed that he should be hiding his powers like this. He did not like lying to people after all.

"Ereinbar?" he repeated a word that Chiffon had used, looking to her for further explanation.

She grabbed a remote control from somewhere and activated a screen that Kazuya had not noticed until then. Displayed was a presentation of the Pandora project, and she quickly moved forward to the part about the Ereinbar. A diagram of the human brain appeared on the screen, with several parts labeled.

"Ereinbar is the control center for all five senses. Pandoras and Limiters share this mechanism and synchronize their senses during a fight," she began to explain as she moved through the slides, "It has been shown that synchronization levels are highest when the Limiter is younger than the Pandora, which is why Limiters are all younger boys! And when a Pandora and Limiter share Ereinbar, they are called an Ereinbar Set."

She continued, "Ereinbar Sets are vital for battling the Nova because it neutralizes their freezing and allows the Pandoras to move freely within the Nova's freezing field. Without it, Pandoras have limited and far riskier options."

"Ah, I see..." he said as he studied the battle layout displayed on the screen. Multiple Ereinbar Sets surrounded a Nova target.

Chiffon's tone up until that point had been very light and positive, but it changed to be a little more serious as she went on. "Encounters with the Nova have so far always resulted in some fatalities. But even then, we must continue to fight because there is no other option. Just like your sister did. Kazuha Aoi, the hero of the 8th Nova Clash." She said the name with reverence and awe, which was to be expected since his sister had been the strongest Pandora in history and her actions during the 8th Nova Clash had made her a bonafide legend.

Kazuya turned away to look out one of the small circular windows. "Kazuha..." he whispered.

"The Nova Invasion isn't over yet, which is why you are going to the Academy today. We still need as many Pandoras and Limiters as we can get to combat the Nova and save the world. It is our duty, our responsibility, to use the powers we have to protect what we care about and defeat the Nova." Chiffon clutched at her heart as she spoke, her emotions showing a little in that conviction.

Speakers in the compartment suddenly blared to life, the crackling voice of the pilot speaking out, "Approaching West Genetics. ETA to landing, three minutes."

Kazuya looked back at Chiffon, whose smile widened. She motioned towards the window, "You can take a look at the campus from above if you like. It's a great view from up here."

He nodded and unbuckling himself went up to one of the windows. Sure enough, they were approaching a walled-in area next to the big city, separated from the city by a wide river as well. From what he saw from the books on the Academies that he had skimmed over, West Genetics consisted of a large area almost the same size as the major city that was next to it.

While it was called an Academy, it was really more of a military base due to the nature of its students. It had an airfield on one side and a huge coliseum-like structure in one corner. There were many open fields around the grounds and it was actually quite beautiful, partly to help the young men and women deal with the stress of their training and their responsibilities. Dozens of different buildings made up the rest of the campus, and those parts resembled more closely any other University around the world.

_This is it_, he thought as he returned to his seat and strapped himself back in. The VTOL was already descending rapidly at this point. Within another minute, the VTOL leveled off and then landed with a slight jolt. Soon after, the engines were powering down, going from a loud roaring to a whining and less.

After they unstrapped themselves from the seats, Chiffon walked over to the door and activated the mechanisms that opened it and deployed the staircase. Bright light streamed in through the opened doorway and air blew in, ruffling her uniform and blowing her hair around. She turned to Kazuya and let out a little giggle, cocking her head to the side ever so slightly.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to West Genetics Academy, Kazuya!"

* * *

**Author's notes: **I know that Gengo is supposed to be their grandfather, but in this case I made him their father (in case any of you missed that).

**This chapter has been edited**


	4. First Day on Campus

**UnLimited**

First Day on Campus

* * *

Chiffon stepped out of the VTOL, leaving Kazuya inside for a few seconds before he eventually followed her out. Going from the rather dark compartment of the transport out into the open, he was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. As his eyes adjusted, he realized that Chiffon was standing next to another young lady wearing the same uniform and they were both waiting for him. Stepping onto the tarmac, he was greeted by the other girl.

"Hello and welcome, Kazuya Aoi. My name is Ticy Phenyl. I'm Vice President of the student council. Pleased to meet you!" she greeted him with a smile.

He couldn't help but smile back. "Hi there, Ticy. It's a pleasure to meet you too." He also found her to be cute too. _Are all girls at this school this attractive? _he wondered as he followed them across the tarmac.

His eyes darted about, taking in his first ground-level sights of West Genetics Academy. They had a very impressive airfield, with lots of fighter jets, attack helicopters, and transports parked all around. Several immense hangers loomed far away, probably housing even more military aircraft. He did notice that there didn't seem to be too much activity around.

Several minutes later and they had left the airfield and were already on actual campus grounds, at which point Chiffon began to give him a tour with Ticy chiming in every so often when she had something to add.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Are you excited for the Sophomore Carnival tomorrow, Sister?" asked Winnie, the Headmistress' assistant as she walked into the office with a handful of papers for her to sign.

Sister Margaret looked up from her work, putting her pen down and leaning back in her chair. She let out a long sigh, "Yes, Winnie. I am always delighted to see the talents of the students on display, though I do hope there won't be any fatalities this time around." She knew that the Carnival was important not simply in having the girls experience a battle situation but to enable them to practice using their extraordinary abilities as well. Not to mention of course the fact that their rankings would be determined through the competition.

"I'm sure that Miss Schmitz will take good care of the girls who are hurt." Winnie had walked around the desk and placed the papers in front of the old woman, who finally leaned forward and grabbed her pen.

"I'm sure she will do her best," the Headmistress stated simply as she signed the documents. "Are the Chevalier brass arriving as scheduled?"

Even though Sister Margaret could not see her, Winnie nodded. "Yes, Sister. They'll arrive one hour before the beginning of the Carnival, as planned."

"Very well. Is this all?" She waved at the documents.

"That's everything. Thank you, Sister."

"No, thank you, Winnie." The old Headmistress watched the young girl leave, shutting the door quietly behind her. Once alone, she glanced at the clock. Turning her chair around, she looked out onto the campus. "Kazuya..."

-**xxxxxx**-

"And this is the First Year male dorm, where you'll be staying," said Chiffon with a finality that meant the tour was effectively over.

It had been a while, Kazuya did not know how long, but they had basically covered every academic-related building in the immediate Academy grounds. In all honesty he was happy the tour was over. As much as he enjoyed the company of the two rather attractive upperclassmen, he would much prefer it in a different setting rather than a tour.

Ticy reached into her purse and pulled out an ID card. "Here, Kazuya. This is your temporary key pass that should get you into your dorm as well as into your room, and it should work for the cafeteria too if you're hungry." She handed it over to him.

Chiffon spoke up. "You'll be meeting with Sister Margaret tomorrow morning. She's the Headmistress of the Academy. She'll have your permanent ID card for you by then." She tilted her head, eyes still squinted and smile unwavering, "Do you have any questions or anything you need? Ticy and I should be off now."

Kazuya thought for a moment but couldn't think of anything so he shook his head. "No, thank you. You've done enough for me already, I'm not sure how to repay you for being so nice but I'll find a way. Thank you again!"

They both laughed lightly at that. "It was our pleasure, Kazuya Aoi. Stay out of trouble, okay?" said Chiffon as she turned and with a parting wave started to walk away.

"See you around, Kazuya!" Ticy said as she walked after the student council President.

He watched their retreating forms for a few more seconds with a smile before he turned to the building before him. The First Year male dormitory. It would be his home for the next year. He wondered what it was like inside.

"Well, time to find out," he said to himself under his breath as he gripped the passkey tightly in his right hand, his duffel bag in his left.

There was a scanner by the front door which he swiped the passkey on. A green light flashed and the door unlocked with an audible click. Soon he was inside, admiring how nice it was. It felt much like a five-star hotel, with marble floors and nice stone walls. There were potted plants in the corners and nice furniture in the entryway, which looked like a large living room with several coffee tables surrounded by chairs.

"Wait, what room am I in?" he wondered aloud, realizing that Chiffon had failed to tell him that vital piece of information. Panicking for a second, he looked at his passkey and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the number inscribed on it - _207_ - which he assumed to be his room number. Second floor.

His eyes darted to the elevator and he paused for a moment, but then he shook his head and headed for the stairs.

On the second floor, he quickly made his way to his room. Inserting his passkey and unlocking the door, he opened it and was instantly surprised by how nice his room was. This whole place really seemed like a five-star hotel. It was very nice and much bigger than he anticipated, it being a single and all. He figured it was at least as big as his room at home, if not even slightly bigger. He had his own bathroom and a tiny balcony too with a good view of the pond next to the dorm.

Looking around some more, he could not help but feel amazed at how good life seemed to be at the Academy. The Chevalier definitely were spoiling them in terms of accommodation, though he knew that it was a small price to pay compared to the services that the students at the Academy could offer to humanity in fighting the Nova.

Thoughts of that returned him to a more serious mood as he settled his duffel bag on the bed and proceeded to unpack. A sudden knock on his door made him turn and realize that he had forgotten to close the door and had simply walked right in as soon as he had opened it.

Standing by the half-opened door was a young man who looked to be about the same age as Kazuya. He had moderately long blonde hair that went past his ears about two inches and blue eyes. He seemed slightly taller than Kazuya, but like everyone so far he had met - which wasn't a lot of people - he had a smile on his face.

"Hi there!" he greeted with a wave, "You must be the new transfer student. My name is Arthur Crypton, I'm your neighbor over in 208! I saw your door open and thought I'd drop in to say hi, I hope that's okay."

Kazuya grinned at Arthur's friendliness. _People around here sure are really nice_, he thought. "Oh no, it's fine. Nice to meet you, Arthur. My name is Kazuya. Kazuya Aoi."

"Aoi?" Arthur's eyes widened and he looked over Kazuya up and down.

"Yeah." Kazuya felt a little weird, like he was being studied.

Arthur seemed to realize what he was doing and snapped himself out of it, "Sorry," he said quickly, "Anyways, it was nice to meet you. Hopefully we're in the same class. I've got to go and meet up with my girl, she's got the Carnival tomorrow. You sure transferred in at an interesting time," he went on.

"Girl? Carnival?" Kazuya gave him a confused look.

"Oh! Right," he flashed a wide, toothy smile. "If you _insist_ then I guess I can tell you about my girl. She's only the most wonderful sophomore Pandora ever, after all." He had this faraway look in his eyes.

"Uh, right... sure."

"Oh! You can stop asking, I already told you I'd tell you," Arthur said, still seemingly in a far away place.

Kazuya could only scratch his head and look even more confused.

"My girl's name is Ganessa Roland!" he exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air, "And she's the best Pandora out there. Well," he paused, "She's currently ranked number two in the class, but after tomorrow's Carnival where she'll exert her superiority, she'll become number one for sure!"

Kazuya couldn't help but smile at his new friend's antics, "Alright, but that's this Carnival you're talking about?

"Right! You don't know, do you? Well, the Carnival is a simulated battle between the Pandoras of a certain class. However they fare in the battle impacts their overall class ranking, and that in turn represents how strong you are as a Pandora. Top ranks also get special attention and of course popularity. Not to mention they are more likely to turn out to go into the Chevalier Numbers teams. You do know what those are, right?" said Arthur, before his eyes widened and he put a hand to his mouth. "Sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking. Of course you know..."

Kazuya had looked away, his gaze going out the window. "Yeah, I know about it..." he said without any emotion.

Arthur couldn't believe he said that. He shook his head. "Sorry, Kazuya. I... I should go now. It was nice meeting you though. I'll see you later!" Without waiting for a response, he had already shut the door and left, feeling pretty bad about what he had said.

The young mister Aoi continued to look out the window, his packing temporarily forgotten.

-**xxxxxx**-

She could feel their eyes on her as she walked by. She heard the murmurs. The whispers. The shouts of alarm and dismay as she came into sight. She saw the looks of nervousness and fear. The way they moved out of her way hastily, stopping whatever they were doing or at least diverting from their plans even for a little while so as not to get in her way.

The Untouchable Queen, they called her. So named because anyone who had touched her before had been seriously hurt, and in battle she was untouchable. Her skill was in a different league, her strength and speed beyond those of her peers. And through all of that she maintained a calm demeanor, never really showing any outward emotions.

It had been like that ever since she transferred here from East Genetics. Ever since that final night...

She shunned the thought away, focusing on the task at hand. She needed food. She had been busy training on her own for several hours and had forgotten to get a snack, so she had to make a quick trip to the cafeteria. Thankfully it was not peak hours so there would not be a lot of people, but still there were enough.

It annoyed her. The way they scurried out of her way and looked at her with fear. A part of her wanted them to like her, to not treat her like some kind of monster. But even here in a place full of people with special abilities, her own abilities were beyond most of theirs. She was different. Unique.

She had learned to accept her lot in life and continue on. What did the opinion of others matter to her, anyway? After all, she was not there to make friends. She was there to train. She was there to become the strongest. This was her purpose in life now, and she would be the best at it even if it killed her. The cafeteria had several dozen people in it, a very small crowd. Still, some of them were lined up in front of her favorite eatery - Burger Queen - and upon seeing her quickly moved aside to let her pass to the front. For them, the sooner she was out of their vicinity the better after all.

She walked right up to the counter and ordered several cheeseburgers, placing her ID card down by the register.

**Satellizer L. Bridget** it read, a small picture of her looking serious in the corner of the card.

She had long blonde hair and a pair of rimless glasses through which her blue eyes were framed. She had pale skin, partly from a lack of sunlight when she was growing up but mostly due to genetics.

"H-Here you go," said the cashier with a nervous smile as he finished swiping her card for her order. He returned the ID to the counter and pushed it forward to her, quickly letting it go.

She gave the briefest of nods as she retrieved her ID and food. With a little flourish as she turned, she walked away with her head held high and her strides lengthy. As she was walking out of the cafeteria, a familiar voice called out to her that made her stiffen ever so slightly and stop in her tracks.

"Oh my, if it isn't Satellizer!" said the voice of her number one rival, or at least that's what she called herself. For Satella, she was not worthy enough to be considered her rival, but she did not say so outwardly. She let her actions do the talking.

"I hope you're ready for tomorrow, Satellizer. I can't wait to see the look on your face when I've beaten you," said the girl. She started to laugh, a rather pompous laugh.

Having heard enough, Satellizer started walking away.

"DAMNIT! I'M STILL TALKING TO YOU!" yelled the girl angrily, "DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!"

Satellizer continued to walk unabated.

A male voice could be heard, then eventually the yelling stopped.

"Good luck tomorrow, you'll need it!" came one last cry from the girl before Satellizer was left alone finally.

She did not understand that girl. Well, she could not _completely _understand her. She could understand the parts of her that were similar to her own self. Mainly that she hated to lose and she wanted to be the strongest Pandora. That's basically where the similarities ended between them. In terms of skill and ability, Satellizer far outclassed her so tomorrow's Carnival worried her not in the slightest.

Her stomach grumbled, causing her to place a hand against her abdomen. She was still a few minutes from her dorm, but decided to start eating the burgers anyway so she reached into the bag and grabbed one. Carefully unwrapping it so as not to drop it, she began to eat as she enjoyed her solitary walk back to her room.

No. Satellizer was not worried about the impending Carnival at all.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya had finished eating the packaged food that Onya had given him. It was the last vestiges of home-cooked meals he would get for a long while, and he cherished every bite of the scrumptious meal. After unpacking what little belongings he had brought with him, he had spent the rest of his time exploring the dormitory. There were five floors, each floor with thirty rooms. Not all of them were occupied, but that still meant there were roughly 120 Limiters in the freshman class. He wondered how many Pandoras there were and made a mental note to ask.

The rest of the dorm consisted of a few study rooms or lounge areas, otherwise nothing of any interest. He saw a few other guys there, but they were not too receptive as his first few acquaintances were and only gave him curious looks as he walked by.

As he was walking back to his room, he saw Arthur and a girl walking from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Hey, Kazuya!" greeted Arthur warmly, the previous incident forgotten already. At least he hoped.

Kazuya nodded and waved, "Hi Arthur."

"Remember that amazing girl I talked about earlier? The beautiful and strong Pandora who I am partnered with? Well this is her! This is the one and only Ganessa Roland," said Arthur exuberantly.

Kazuya could not help but grin at that, mentally shaking his head at how in love this fool was. _Good for him_, he thought as he turned his attention to Ganessa.

She was slightly shorter than Kazuya with burgundy red hair tied into two pigtails on either side of her head with blue ribbons. She had surprising purple eyes. She was indeed quite attractive and from the looks of it she took care of herself well. She smiled politely when she saw Kazuya.

"Hello there, Kazuya Aoi. Arthur here's been telling me _all _about you," she said, "Nice to finally meet you."

Kazuya looked at Arthur with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged and laughed it off, not giving an explanation. He turned back to Ganessa. "Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you as well. He's talked about you a lot since we met," he replied. _That's mostly what he's talked about, actually..._ he followed up in his mind.

She wrapped an arm around his waist, chuckling, "Oh dear, Arthur. He does seem to do that a lot. How many times have I told you not to go blabbing on and on about me too often, it can be a little much at times you know."

Arthur laughed, "Yeah, I guess I get carried away sometimes because... well, I love you, Ganessa."

She rolled her eyes, though she obviously liked the statement from the rest of her body language. "Anyway, I think we should leave poor Kazuya alone now. I think he's seen enough of our affections, having just met us after all. Don't you think, Arthur?"

He raised a hand in apology towards Kazuya, "Oh right, sorry. Heh heh... See you later, Kazuya!" With that the two of them walked over to his room.

Kazuya went to his own room and soon found himelf lying down on his bed. Things were looking pretty good so far.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was already up by the time his alarm went off at eight in the morning. In fact he had finished freshening up and dressing already and simply walked over to the alarm to turn it off before heading out the door. Outside the dorm, he started to do some dynamic stretches and some push-ups and jump-and-jacks to wake himself up a bit more.

Five minutes later, Chiffon and Ticy walked by and greeted him a good morning.

"Did you have a good night's rest, Kazuya?" asked Chiffon, ever smiling.

"I did. Those beds are really comfy!" And he was not lying. It was even more comfortable than his own bed, to his surprise.

"Excellent. Well, let's head to the Headmistress' office now, shall we?"

"Lead the way, Miss President."

She gave him a look, still with squinted eyes, "Remember what I said about the whole 'miss' business?"

He grinned sheepishly, "Right. Sorry."

"Excited for classes?" Ticy asked him, clutching a few notebooks in her arms against her chest. Her waist-length black hair waving as the wind blew a little stronger than usual.

"I guess, I mean not really," he answered truthfully, "I haven't really thought about that too much yet."

"I understand. Well, are you at least excited to find a Pandora who might make you her Limiter?" Her greenish-grey eyes studied him.

He shrugged, "I haven't really thought about that much either. Haha. I guess I'm still trying to get used to being here, you know?"

Chiffon chimed in, "That's perfectly alright, Kazuya. You only just arrived after all. You can worry about all that later once you're all settled and comfortable."

They reached the main office a few minutes later and headed straight for the elevator. They went all the way to the top floor, exiting the elevator into a nicely-sized hallway. There was only one doorway, a large set of doors standing before them. They slid open as the trio approached, revealing a nice waiting area and a reception desk.

A young woman who looked to be no more than a few years older than Chiffon sat behind the desk. She was busy fixing her hair while looking into a small mirror on her desk and looked startled to see them arrive. She immediately stood up and smiled.

"Hello Chiffon. Ticy." She greeted them each in turn with a smile and a slight head bow. Her gaze turned to Kazuya. "And you must be Kazuya Aoi. Nice to finally meet you, I'm Winnie. Sister Margaret's secretary." She turned back to Chiffon. "You guys are ten minutes early. Sister is still on her way and should be arriving shortly."

Chiffon giggled. "Well our new transfer here was up earlier than expected. I'm sure that Sister Margaret wouldn't mind. After all, that means she can get this out of the way sooner before the Chevalier officers get here for the Carnival."

Winnie nodded, "Right you are. Please, take a seat while you wait."

As soon as she said that, however, the doors slid open to reveal Sister Margaret. She did not looked tired at all, considering the time, and she walked in with a sense of purpose and confidence. She greeted them all and headed straight for her office, closing the door softly as she went in.

About two minutes later, the intercom buzzed and Winnie told them that she was ready for Kazuya.

He looked at the other two and they motioned for him to go on without them. Not needing to be told twice, he went in. Going through another set of double doors, he walked into a rather spacious and well-kept office with a wonderful view of the beautiful campus grounds through the large window wall. Sister Margaret sat at her desk with a big smile as she waited for them to walk up to her desk.

"Good morning and welcome to West Genetics Academy, Kazuya Aoi. I'm so happy to finally meet you, you're father has told me a lot about you. How did you like your orientation day yesterday? I trust Chiffon and Ticy behaved well?" said the old woman, her tone strong and steady, but softened with a tinge of friendliness.

Kazuya nodded, "Yes, Sister Margaret. They were more than helpful and I am truly grateful to them."

"Excellent. Now, if I may ask you a question...?"

"What is it?"

"What do you think of the Academy from what you've seen? Be honest with me." She leaned forward, intertwining her fingers and resting her elbows on the table.

He thought for a moment and then grinned. "Well, it's definitely a lot prettier and nicer than I thought. And the dorm rooms are wonderful, and so far the people have been pretty friendly."

Sister Margaret nodded. "Good, good. Well, I'd like to keep this meeting short so," she paused to pull out a drawer and then get something from it. Shutting the drawer, she placed an ID card at the end of the table towards him. "Here's your permanent ID card. Try not to lose it. Now you may go."

"Sister, if I may ask... how well do you know my father? He mentioned you are friends?" he ventured to ask.

She seemed to stiffen slightly at that, though he was not sure if he really saw that reaction or not. It was hard to tell with her robes. "We can talk about such matters at another time, Mister Aoi."

Kazuya thanked her, taking the ID card and turning to leave before he was interrupted by Sister Margaret's call to him.

"Oh, and one more thing Kazuya? Try to stay out of trouble. Take care now!"

When he left the office, Chiffon and Ticy were still out there. They smiled as they saw him.

"Well, Kazuya. What are you going to do today? You don't have class after all," asked Chiffon.

"Wait, there's no class today?"

Ticy nodded, "Yep! Everyone has today off. It's because of the Sophomore Carnival later today."

"Oh, right." Kazuya had forgotten about that. "Well, hopefully I can watch some of it to see what it's all about."

"I'm sure you'll find it to be... rather interesting," said Chiffon.

Ticy nudged him. "Now you should get going, Kazuya. Go meet some more people!"

He chuckled. "Right. See you guys later! Thank you so much once again!" He swiftly walked out to the elevators.

The two Third year students watched him leave before sharing a look. Then Winnie told them that Sister Margaret was ready to see them both.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer opened her eyes. Squeezing her stuffed bear that she had slept with, she let it go and rolled onto her back. Stretching out she let out a groan and then proceeded to roll out of bed. She walked over to her closet and proceeded to undress what little clothing she had on. Off came her panties and her silk shirt. The coolr air in the room chilled her naked body.

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as she concentrated on her stigmas. Her eyes glowed. "Volt texture, activate."

Blue energy suddenly glowed all around her before turning into her battle clothing. Feeling better, she proceeded to walk out of her room and head for the coliseum. Glancing at the wall clock in the main lounge area of her dorm as she walked through it, she made a mental note that the Carnival was starting in ninety minutes.

She sighed. She wanted to get it over with already.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I hope you're still enjoying the story. Thanks for all the reviews and support. :) Next chapter title: _Carnival Commences_


	5. Carnival Commences

**UnLimited**

Carnival Commences

* * *

"Is everything ready?" asked Sister Margaret, her face faintly illuminated by the glowing of the computer monitors around the coliseum Carnival Control Room.

"Yes, ma'am. All systems are a go. Surveillance systems fully functional and online. Main program is running perfectly. Data analysis sensors fully functional. Recovery teams are on stand-by. Security teams are in position. Pandoras are in staging areas, all of them present and accounted for. Just give us the word," said the sergeant who was in charge of running the Carnival. He glanced up at her from his computer terminal.

Sister Margaret looked at the six Chevalier officers that stood before her. Five males and a female. Three generals, two admirals, and a colonel. They were in a circle talking about something in hushed tones. She cleared her throat loudly, silencing them and catching their attention.

"Are you all ready to observe the Sophomore year Carnival?" she asked them, looking each one of them in the eyes.

They all said that they were, and they turned around to face the main camera feed monitors. She could tell from their body language, however stiff they were, that they were excited and anxious for it to begin.

She closed her eyes.

"Very well, sergeant. Commence the Sophomore Carnival."

-**xxxxxx**-

A loud air raid siren blared all of a sudden, echoing across the campus and startling Kazuya. He looked around, unsure of what to make of it. What did it mean? Were they under attack? Were the Nova there? When he saw the people around him not running around in panic, he relaxed. He eventually realized what it was. The carnival. It was probably the signal that it was starting._  
_

He wondered how he might be able to catch a glimpse of it and decided to head back to the dorm to check if Arthur was there. He might know where they might be able to watch it.

_Please be at the dorm, Arthur... _he thought.

-**xxxxxx**-

As soon as the siren sounded, the many staging areas for the Pandoras were unlocked and they flooded into the coliseum's battle ground. There were one-hundred and eleven Pandoras in the Sophomore class battling for rank, honor, and survival. Released in varying group sizes, some of them fought immediately with each other while others decided to team up and fight together.

Those who fought alone were the quickest to lose, particularly against teams of opponents. Well, _most_ of the lone Pandoras lost, not all. There were a few exceptions to that rule, particularly the highest ranked Pandoras and more specifically #1 ranked Satellizer L. Bridget and #2 ranked Ganessa Roland.

One particularly strong group were the Pandoras ranked #3, #4, and #5. Their names were Audrey Duval, Trish McKenzie, and Aika Takeuchi respectively.

Within the first hour, half the Pandoras were already taken out and evacuated to be treated for their wounds. Their screams and cries of pain and surprise filled the air almost as often as explosions and ground-shaking movements did. Many of the wounds they sustained would have killed any normal human being already, but thankfully they were not. Their bodies were genetically modified and coupled with stigma meant that they were far stronger and had very fast healing rates in comparison to a regular person. That said, they still needed a lot of help especially for particularly gruesome or life-threatening wounds.

Unlike the others, Satellizer had been deployed alone. She surveyed her immediate vicinity, finding no opponents. Her senses were heightened, her body calm but ready to move at a moment's notice. She didn't have her volt weapon out yet. Walking nonchalantly across the debris strewn battlefield, she walked towards the nearest sounds of fighting, looking rather out of place without a weapon in her hands.

She briefly glanced skyward as a medivac helicopter flew by on its way to pick up injured Pandoras. Movement to her left caught her eye and instinctively she jumped backwards. A second after she did so a broadsword came swinging down from a Pandora who had jumped at her, slicing the air she had previously occupied. Surprised for a second, the attacking Pandora shifted and began to attack all out face-to-face against Satellizer, who seemed to take no effort at all to avoid the attacks.

That only served to enrage the attacking Pandora, increasing the speed and fierceness of her attacks. Still, it was no use as none of her attacks landed. She wasn't even close and she knew it, but she would not give up.

Gathering her power, she lunged for a mighty blow against the Untouchable Queen. At the last second though she again moved out of the way, this time her volt weapon activating - a huge single-edge sword that was like a fan in that the blade went past the guard. The attacking Pandora could do nothing to stop the counter-attack, exposed as she was with her focus on landing a heavy strike and having missed.

Satellizer effortlessly brought the blade in her right hand slashing upwards, cutting through flesh as the steel drank blood for the first time that day. The Pandora screamed in pain as she was flung up and back a few feet, blood squirting from a huge gash all across her abdomen and right side. A helicopter was soon trying to land at the scene, with Satellizer walking away, her weapon still firmly in her right hand with blood dripping from the edge.

"It's her! The Untouchable Queen!" yelled a Pandora who had appeared ahead of her. She had a spear in her hands, the tip pointing towards Satellizer. She yelled over her shoulder, "Come on! If we take her on all at once, there's no way she can win."

Back in the Carnival control room, the high-ranking Chevalier brass were reacting to the scene unfolding on one of the screens. A tactical map showed the Academy's number one ranked Second year was facing off against a group of fifteen other Pandoras who were working together.

"There's no way that she can win this one," said one of the generals, receiving nods of agreement from the other officers.

An admiral spoke up, "I've never seen anyone win against such numbers, no matter their rank."

All Sister Margaret could do was smile a little. _You have no idea..._

If Satellizer was fazed by the number of her opponents, she did not let it outwardly show. She remained as cool and confident as ever, not even the slightest inclination of her being remotely nervous.

"ATTACK!" yelled the girl with the spear.

A wave of four Pandora attacked first, quickly followed by the rest.

The four Pandora attacked simultaneously, but their target moved much faster than they did. Satellizer bent her knees a little, reading her weapon as she breathed in deeply. Her opponents' attacks seemed to slow down to her and she avoided the first wave with ease, slashing a spinning counter-attack that sent two of the original four flying with gaping wounds.

The other two managed to move away in time. The second wave was a group of three, their weapons coming in at different angles and yet all of them were blocked with such skill and strength that fear gripped them in the middle of their attack. Swinging her giant hammer, one Pandora jumped up in the air and was about to bring it down on the blonde when Satellizer suddenly appeared right beside her in the air. Her volt weapon slashing upwards and severing much of the girl's right shoulder. Her hammer went flying as she fell to the ground in a thud and a shower of blood.

Landing on the ground, Satellizer was immediately attacked by the remaining first two who had started and were this time backed up by the two remaining from the group of three. Again their attacks were thwarted, blocked and avoided with an ease and grace that showed why Satellizer was the Rank One of their class. Her counter-attacks hit their marks and all four fell to the ground severely injured.

Seeing the first seven Pandora beaten, the remaining eight hesitated. Unfortunately, that was a mistake as Satellizer did not wait for them to regroup and went on the offensive immediately. Her steps were light, her movements swift, and her blows accurate. Her blade was soaked in blood by the time she finished the remaining eight, which took her about twelve seconds to accomplish.

The helicopters were already on the ground and beginning to evacuate and treat the injured Pandoras.

Rank One of the Sophomores gave a brief, uninterested look at the evacuation scene before continuing on her walk. Not a finger had been laid on her, not even the slightest damage to her uniform. The only evidence that she had been in battle was the fact that her weapon was partially covered in both fresh and dried blood. There was also a little blood on her uniform, but it was obvious that it was not hers.

-**xxxxxx**-

"_That,_" Sister Margaret began to say, emphasizing the word, "Is why she is ranked first among the Sophomores."

"Who is that?"

"What's her name?"

"Amazing."

"That was unbelievable."

"I haven't seen that kind of skill in a while."

"She is Satellizer L. Bridgette, also known around here as The Untouchable Queen," Sister Margaret stated simply.

The officers all looked at each other at the mention of the name. One of the generals turned around to look at the Headmistress.

"You mean... she's a member of _the_ L. Bridgette family?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Impressive..." the general trailed off as he turned his attention back to the screens.

Sister Margaret looked to the sergeant who was in charge of the Carnival. He was busy working at his terminal, his hands flying across the illuminated keyboard and his eyes fixated on his screens. "Sergeant, how many Pandora remaining?"

The sergeant put in a few commands and the count showed up on one of the big screens, along with a list. "Thirty-three Pandora still active on the battlefield, ma'am."

"Change the battle conditions. Set time of day to evening... and change the weather to raining. Heavily." She intertwined her fingers in front of her, letting her arms hang loose so that her hands were in front of her waist. _Time to make things a little more interesting..._

The Coliseum was actually an enormous circular building that was completely enclosed. Outfitted with the latest simulation technology, it was perfect for staging the Carnivals. The interior walls and ceiling were doubly reinforced and blanketed by what primitive shielding technology they could muster. They were still several dozen years away from having efficient energy-shielding, but what they were employing now was good enough to protect the interior from indirect fire should the Pandoras be using long-range weapons.

"Environment change implementation in thirty seconds," stated the sergeant. "Surveillance team, make sure to switch all cameras to night-mode," he called out to the small group of technicians working in a terminal block off to the side. They acknowledged his order and continued to work.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Arthur! Arthur! Are you in there?" Kazuya called out as he knocked on his neighbor's door.

There was no reply. He tried again. Still no reply. Sighing, he decided to go find out for himself where he could observe the Carnival. He knew that it was being held at the Coliseum, so he began to make his way there. He figured that they would have some kind of observation deck or area where people who were interested could watch the battle.

Seeing the Pandora's in the year above him also meant that he might try and find a Pandora who he could partner with. While he was not sure if he should or even _could _partner with a Pandora, given his uniqueness, he thought it would not hurt to at least become more familiar with the available Second Year Pandoras. He would ask his father later what the situation would be with regards to Pandora-Limiter partnering.

As he exited the dorm he broke out into a run towards the giant rounded building in the distance, not wanting to miss any more of the action.

-**xxxxxx**-

The sun rapidly began to set and the inside of the Coliseum was soon plunged into darkness for a brief moment before lights appeared all around. There were numerous floodlights and light posts that appeared across the area. Thunder rumbled up above and lightning flashed as rain began to pour down onto the battlefield.

Satellizer stopped walking as she observed the sudden change in environment.

The pouring rain had her soaking wet immediately, but she did not care. The temperature dropped slightly, making the water a little chilly. She shivered involuntarily. This new environment would be more challenging for most Pandoras. For Satellizer though this was nothing to worry about. A little hiccup, if anything.

"Raggghhh!" a female voice yelled from up ahead. A Pandora brandishing a huge two-sided axe was charging at her, parting the falling water around her and leaving a trail through the rain as she moved towards Satellizer at considerable speed. The axe swung through the air.

Satellizer disappeared suddenly, the axe crashing into the ground with a loud thud, cracking the earth and launching some dirt into the air from the impact. A small crater appeared around the broken ground where the axe was embedded. The Untouchable Queen stood behind her, her volt weapon extended into the air. The Pandora's eyes widened as the cold steel ripped through her back. She screeched in pain, arching back from the impact as she fell to her knees and then to the ground. She was gasping for air, her blood pooling around her and mixing with the rain.

The triumphant Pandora walked away, the sound of a helicopter coming closer echoing around the area for yet another time. A clapping nearby made Satellizer halt in her tracks, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"As expected of the Untouchable Queen. What skill... but how about you face a more talented opponent?" said a familiar voice.

"Or three." Another voice chimed in.

"Or three indeed," repeated a third, amused.

Satellizer turned ever so slightly towards the three Pandoras who were speaking. They were evenly spaced out, all roughly the same distance from her. The first voice had been Audrey Duval, Second Year Rank Third. The other two were her close friends: Trish McKenzie and Aika Takeuchi, Second Year Ranks Four and Five, respectively.

Even through the rain, Satellizer could see the desire for battle in their eyes and the smirks on their faces. She stayed silent, unmoving.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked Audrey. She shook her head slowly, still smirking. "No matter. We'll make you scream once we're done with you." She readied her volt weapon, a poleaxe. Trish had two broadswords in her hands while Aika held a chained flail. She turned to her two companions and they all nodded to each other. Returning their gazes to their opponent, they tensed their bodies to be ready to leap forward to attack.

"You're going down!" yelled Audrey. She moved fast, running towards Satellizer and than jumping into the air. At the same time, Trish attacked from Satellizer right side and Aika proceeded to attack from her left.

Satellizer moved a few inches to her right, Aika's chained flail passing through air and rain as it missed its target. Without pause she lashed out at Trish, causing her to back off and then in one fluid motion Satellizer brought Nova Blood, her volt weapon, up and blocked Audrey's attack. She pushed and threw Audrey back, causing the Pandora to yelp in surprise.

The Untouchable Queen kept moving. She jumped out of the way as the flail again missed its mark, exploding into the ground in a shower of dirt and rock. The chain was taut, held firmly in Aika's hands, and Satellizer sped towards her. Aika pulled her flail back, but it was too slow and too late as Satellizer reached her before she could do anything. Two huge gashes appeared on her chest as she fell in a cry of pain.

"Aika!" yelled both Audrey and Trish as they watched their friend go down.

Satellizer stood a few feet past her, half-turned towards her remaining two opponents.

"You're going to pay for that!" Trish bellowed, already running towards the blonde Pandora. Aika had hesitated for a moment then followed suit, running off to the side to try and flank.

Satellizer parried the attacks from the twin blades wielded by Trish with relative ease, her body moving appropriately in a defense posture and then with one counter-slash both of Trish's blades broke in half. The Pandora looked at her broken weapons with surprise, which was a mistake as Satellizer plunged Nova Blood into her abdomen. Blood spewed out from her mouth and her wound, her eyes going wide as she started to make choking sounds.

"Got you!" exclaimed a triumphant Audrey, as she swung her poleaxe diagonally downwards from behind.

A half-second before impact, Satellizer lunged away with amazing agility. The poleaxe sliced through the rain, hitting nothing. Audrey growled, briefly surprised before she continued attacking. Her poleaxe swung forward. Satellizer blocked the attack and then grabbed the pole past the blade. She then instantly pulled on it, causing Audrey to fall forwards.

Nova Blood bit through her flesh, slicing through her left side with ease. She grimaced and let out a small yelp of pain as she fell to her knees. Her weapon on the ground, she turned to Satellizer and even in her pain she wanted to at least touch her. To put a finger on the Untouchable Queen would be a victory for her, even in this defeat.

But her hand never reached her target as Satellizer's own free hand grabbed her wrist with an iron grip. Already weakened from the serious injury, Audrey could not muster the strength to fight back as the Untouchable Queen squeezed even harder. The pain was unbearable, and it got even worse when with a cracking sound her wrist was crushed.

"AHHHHHH!" she screamed, eyes full of tears and her body shaking and going into shock.

Satellizer leaned forward slightly, towering over Audrey and looking at her with a menacing expression. "I will not let _anyone_ touch me." The first words she had said throughout the whole Carnival. It was simple, and said with such gravity that before Audrey passed out she shivered - not from the cold, but from the fear that she felt with those uttered words.

A bright light began to shine down upon them. The spotlight from the medivac helicopter sighting them as it prepared to land.

Satellizer stood up, looking at her three fallen opponents, before walking away yet again. It was becoming a clear theme for this Carnival. She was clearly in a league of her own compared to the other Pandora in her class. She was special. She was strong. She was unbeatable.

* * *

**Author's notes: **As always, feedback (reviews) motiivates me to write. The story continues!

Next chapter title: _Carnival Consequences _- we'll get to see Ganessa and of course Kazuya this time around :)


	6. Carnival Consequences

**UnLimited**

_Carnival Consequences_

* * *

Kazuya was a little out of breath by the time he reached the Coliseum. He took a moment to collect himself and ease his increased breathing. Years of training have made him strong and athletic, so the roughly half a mile run he just did was no big deal. What training did not help with was the sweating, since that was largely genetic. Sweat dripped from every pore, soaking him, and it did not help that it was very hot and sunny outside. Remembering that with the Academy uniform he had a handkerchief, he quickly pulled it out of one of his pockets and began to wipe the sweat off of his face.

Once he gathered himself and had dried up a bit, he finally took stock of his surroundings.

The Coliseum was enormous up close, both in terms of width and height. He found the main entrance and figured that he would be able to ask someone there about where he might be able to observe the Carnival. He only hoped that he was not too late to do so.

Opening the big metal double doors to the Coliseum, Kazuya strode in and found himself in a large entrance hall that was mostly empty. His footsteps echoed across the space. There was a rather loud background humming sound that permeated the area and got stronger the more he walked in. At the other end of the hall were a few soldiers who stood guard and they watched Kazuya curiously as he approached.

"Excuse me, but where can I observe the ongoing Carnival?" he asked one of the soldiers once he got close enough.

The soldier looked to his comrades then back at Kazuya. "I need you to show me your ID please."

Kazuya complied, handing him his ID card. The soldier walked a few steps to a terminal where he swiped the card. A second later, Kazuya's file came up on screen. The soldier paused for a moment, recognizing the last name, but then handed the ID back.

The soldier turned to face the young student. "Follow me, Kazuya Aoi, I'll take you to one of the observation decks. You might be in time to see the last few battles of the Carnival."

-**xxxxxx**-

"Two Pandoras remaining, Headmistress," reported the sergeant, looking up from his terminal towards the old woman.

She gave a nod to signal that she had heard him, "Place active footage onto the main screen for our guests."

"Right away, ma'am." He quickly went to work on his terminal and within a few seconds a tactical map was displayed on the right side of the big main screen and on the left side was direct footage from the Coliseum.

The Carnival had been going on for about two hours already, which was a bit below the average time that the event usually ran for. Pandoras were far superior to ordinary humans in terms of strength and speed, as well as other things of course. But because of their heightened speed and strength, battles between them did not usually take too long unless both Pandoras have equal skills and equal footing in terms of environment.

"It seems this Carnival is finally coming to an end," remarked one of the generals.

"Only two remaining, and the two highest-ranking Pandoras no less," noted another general.

The colonel, and lone female of the group, chimed in. "This should be a very good battle. I'm interested to see who will win, though I have a feeling it will be the L. Bridget girl."

"And why is that?" asked an admiral.

"Judging from what we've seen from this Carnival, she far outclasses any other Second Year Pandora in all fighting categories," she replied simply.

Sister Margaret, standing a few feet behind them, could not help but smile at that answer. While Satellizer was indeed quite the headache and troublemaker, she was indeed one of the strongest and most talented Pandoras in the Academy. Especially considering the low level of synchronization she has with her stigmata. Of course, given her conduct at East Genetics she was held back a year so technically she was supposed to be in her Third year already and while she did make an effort not to use her high-end skills, Sister Margaret knew she must have at least one.

Even with that knowledge, she was still proud of Satellizer's strength and her accomplishments in battle, like a mother would be of the success of her daughter. The fact that the girl reminded her of Kazuha and that she had some of Kazuha's heroic-stigmata also helped make her feel this way.

_Still, if only we could solve your trust issues..._ she thought as she watched the scene unfold on the screen with close attention.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Well, Satellizer L. Bridget. It looks like it's just me and you," said Ganessa Roland with a smile, "As expected, of course. But as with any Carnival there can only be one winner, and that would obviously be me." She was standing atop a cement pillar of a ruined building, staring down at Satellizer. As usual the blonde Pandora remained silent and merely looked back at her opponent with an unreadable expression.

The rain had stopped at this point, the sky clearing to reveal a bright moon that shined brightly in the computer-generated environment. The wind was blowing lightly.

Ganessa brushed some of her red hair aside, smirking as she continued to look down at Satellizer. "It doesn't matter whether you say anything or not. I _will_ defeat you!" With that exclamation she changed her stance and bent her knees a little as she called on her volt weapon, Chains of Binding - a set of six chained flails that were attached to her back.

Satellizer extended her hand out and called forth her own weapon, Nova Blood, the blade materializing from energy. She let the blade and her arm rest at her side, waiting for Ganessa to make the first move. The redhead complied immediately, a look of determination on her face.

"Take this!" she yelled as she leaped off the column and fell to the ground. Her chains began to extend, the sharp flails seeking out the flesh of her opponent.

Satellizer moved nimbly, dodging the opening assault as Ganessa landed on the ground. Her chains retracted for a moment, the first strike having missed. She seemed rather irritated at that, but quickly tossed her irritation aside and replaced it with more determination. She did not want to lose. Not again. This time would be different.

"Let's try that again, shall we?" she said confidently.

Again her chained flails lashed out, this time Satellizer blocked all six of them instead of dodging. Ganessa was surprised at the speed, but her surprise grew when in one swift stroke Satellizer severed three of the chains as she approached the redhead at a fast pace. The redhead jumped out of the way and sent her remaining chains to attack again.

Satellizer frowned slightly as she altered her attack, missing her mark though still managing to cut Ganessa a little. A thin line of blood as well as a rip in Ganessa's clothes evidence of her attack. The blonde's eyes narrowed as she turned to Ganessa, Nova Blood out and ready to strike again.

Ganessa meanwhile looked at her cut with shock and then anger. This was not turning out well. She focused her energy and reformed the broken chained-flails. Gritting her teeth, she growled at Satellizer. "Damn you! This won't turn out like the last time, I swear..." She began another assault, her chains unrelenting as they attacked from different angles and different timings.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was right up against the thick, reinforced glass of the Lower Observation Deck. He was alone in the room, apparently most other students were not interested in watching it live at the Coliseum since it was being streamed online and through the campus televisions - which he did not know about. He was watching the battle with interest, noting the speed and strength of the Pandoras that were fighting. He did not know who they were, but he knew that they were quite skilled. Whenever his eyes glanced over the blonde Pandora, he could not help but feel as if he knew her. It was a feeling both in his mind and in his chest.

Finally, at one point the blonde Pandora had her back to him. The wind blew at the right moment and that triggered his memory. He gasped, taking a step back as his eyes widened. His whole body began to shake at that point. He approached the glass again, placing a hand on it as he squinted to try and get a better look. The resemblance was striking, near perfect even. From the way she dressed to her weapon...

_Could it be...? _

-**xxxxxx**-

Ganessa was panting from her exertion, and Satellizer was a little out of breath herself. The two squared off once more. Satellizer had had enough and was aiming to finish the match once and for all. As usual, she had been holding back. But it was evident that it would take a little more than she was giving at the moment to take care of the persistent Second Rank, Ganessa Roland.

As they were about to clash one more time, an explosion from elsewhere rocked the Coliseum and shook the ground, interrupting them. They both turned in surprise. They were supposed to be the only ones remaining in the Carnival. Why was there an explosion?

Suddenly they saw a rapidly approaching figure. It was moving with surprising speed. A young man.

"Big sister!" he yelled as he got close.

_Are those tears in his eyes...? _thought Ganessa, looking just as confused as Satellizer. The both of them stood rooted to the spot, unsure of what to make of the situation.

Then without warning the young man with the short black hair launched himself at Satellizer, who could only widen her eyes and gasp as he latched onto her and sent them both to the ground. He was crying into her breasts, either completely unaware of the situation or purposefully doing so. Though it seemed more the former than the latter with the way he was acting.

He was sobbing, hugging her tightly around the waist as he shook his head. "Big sister... big sister... please... please don't leave me again..."

Ordinarily, Satellizer would have thrown off anyone who would dare touch her like that. Ordinarily, she would have beaten to near death someone foolish enough to place their hands on her, particularly in such a manner. She wasn't the Untouchable Queen for nothing after all. But for once in her life she did not feel awful from the way he touched her. His touch did not trigger her fear or her disgust. In fact it triggered far different emotions. Embarrassment. Nervousness. And a tingling feeling within her that she could not quite place.

"What the hell?" said a bewildered Ganessa, her hands at her waist.

The young man continued to cry, ignoring Satellizer's feeble attempts to get him off of her.

Ganessa shook her head to clear away her surprise. This was her opportunity. Her window to finally beat Satellizer. After all, there was no rule about outside interference like this, and defeating her even in her obviously incapacitated state would still mean that she had beaten her and thus Ganessa Roland would be Rank One. She smirked, her chained-flails at the ready.

Satellizer finally realized her predicament as she saw Ganessa begin to move in for the strike, a triumphant look on her face. For the life of her, even though defeat was imminent, she could still hardly move from her spot as the young man continued to hold her. She did not understand what was going on and watched as the chained-flails hurtled towards her.

And then something happened that brought the situation further into unbelievable territory.

The young man, sensing the attack had loosened his grip of Satellizer and turned to look at Ganessa, who was in midair with her chains extending towards them. He then spoke with a seriousness and clarity one word: "No." With the utterance of that word energy shot out from where he lay, engulfing all of them. His eyes began to glow an intense blue as a blue field stretched out for several dozen meters all around them. Dirt, debris, anything that was in the air at the time that was engulfed in the field was suddenly suspended there.

Ganessa found herself held in place in midair, the only part of her body able to move being her eyes, which were wide open from the shock. _It can't be... is this... is this freezing?! How is he freezing me without an Eirenbar? And so powerful... I can't move at all... This can't be happening... This can't be real... This is impossible!_

Satellizer realized that she too could not move, but was more in awe and surprise at the sudden display of incredible freezing power than she was concerned with her mobility at the moment. She too could not fathom how this young man, obviously a Limiter and a special one at that, managed to not only deploy a freezing field without an Eirenbar but managed to deploy one so powerful so as to freeze even objects in midair. She had never heard or seen of such abilities before.

A familiar voice echoed across the battlefield. Sister Margaret was ending the Carnival and calling it a draw. The first ever draw in Academy history, brought about of course by extenuating circumstances. Still, people were not going to be too happy about that, especially Ganessa, who could only watch in horror as her dreams of becoming the number one ranked Pandora of her class were taken away from her.

-**xxxxxx**-

The helicopters were circling the area, barely outside the freezing field. Dr. Elize Schmitz held onto a handle attached to the door frame of the chopper as she leaned out and observed the scene below her. Impressive would have been a major understatement for the feat that the young man had produced down there. She had no idea who he was, but she noted that he looked rather familiar.

Sister Margaret had ordered her to diffuse the situation immediately, and she could not really think of any way to do so without getting caught in the field herself. Well, there was _one _option but she preferred not to go into Pandora mode for something like this. She instructed the helicopter crew to set her down near the edge of the field. She would simply wait for the field to collapse and step in quickly to end the fight; her instincts told her that at least one of the two remaining Pandoras there would not be happy with the way this Carnival ended and would react unreasonably if released from her frozen state.

Finally, after what seemed like a while, the field collapsed.

Elize wasted no time as she rushed towards the teens with superhuman speed. As she got there, Ganessa was only getting to her feet. Her expression was half of disbelief and half of anger, and her eyes were riveted on the two who still lay on the ground. Her chained-flails were at the ready and her fists clenched.

"Enough," Elize finally broke the silence as she stepped in between her and the other two. Her hands were in the pockets of her white lab coat, which was unbuttoned to reveal a pink blouse underneath and a black skirt. "Sister Margaret has called this Carnival over. Release your weapon, now."

There was a moment where Ganessa hesitated, but then she forced herself to back down and release her volt weapon. As upset as she was, she still understood that this was an order from an elder and from a former Numbers squad Pandora no less. Her word was not meant to be taken lightly. Even though she wanted to defeat Satellizer, she would have to wait for another time. This was far from over after all.

She glared openly at the young man who had interrupted their fight and thought she recognized him, but his face was slightly obscured in Satellizer's dress. It appeared that he had fallen unconscious from his efforts. She would have to punish him as well for taking away her chance at victory. There would definitely be consequences for both of him and Satellizer.

Elize walked over to the two young adults who were lying on the ground. She turned to the blonde and asked if she was alright.

"I-I'm fine, ma'am..." came the reply, a little flustered.

That caused Elize to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. The Untouchable Queen was flustered? What a strange situation this really was. And to have him all over her like that without any retribution for it at all had her wondering what it was about this boy that made him so special. She would have to find out who he is and what his deal was.

"You," she pointed to Ganessa who was still standing there, "Report to the helicopter over there. I still want your vitals checked, as per post-Carnival protocol."

Without so much as a word Ganessa obeyed and began to walk to one of the two helicopters that were idling nearby. She returned her gaze to the two still on the ground. "Miss Bridget, you'll be taking the other helicopter with me. Now please help me get this young man over there." That seemed to make Satellizer more flustered.

As a doctor who has been serving at West Genetics for some time now, never in her life had she seen anyone with that type of freezing ability. She had also never seen a draw happen during a Carnival. Suffice to say, there were going to be some consequences to this strange turn of events. Whether those consequences turn out to be good or bad remained to be seen.

* * *

**Author's notes: **For those of you waiting to see Kazuya's full abilities... you'll have to wait a little longer ;)

Next chapter title: _The Devourer_


	7. The Devourer

**NOTE: **This is the last time I will be addressing this: I know that Gengo Aoi is supposed to be their grandfather but for the purposes of this story I've changed it so that Gengo is now their father. That's that. There will be no changing back to him being their grandfather. I did this on purpose and I intend to keep it that way. If you don't like it, too bad! Now, on with the story!

**UnLimited**

_The Devourer_

* * *

Kazuya woke up slowly.

He was aware of the soreness of his body and of how dark it was. His senses seemed very dull and his mind felt sluggish. In fact, his entire body seemed twice as heavy than it usually was. He had difficulty at first with moving around. As some time passed, he thankfully began to return to normal. Eventually he was for the most part back to his normal self, though his mind was still a bit foggy. Questions popped up then, questions that at the moment he did not have answers to.

How long was he out? What happened? How badly was he hurt?

He finally opened his eyes and looked around.

He found himself in a hospital bed, in what was no doubt the clinic on campus. Everything was bright and clean and in neutral colors, very much a plain and sterile environment. A lone but large window sat in the middle of the wall to his right, sunlight streaming in as the drapes were pulled back. On his left in the far corner was the door, and as if on cue it opened.

"Oh! You're awake! I'm glad," said the Student President of West Genetics. She had her hands clasped together down by her hips and her eyes were squinting as usual. A genuine smile spread across her lips.

Kazuya gave a nod in greeting, surprised at the appearance of Chiffon. "Hello, Miss... err... hello, Chiffon. How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours, really. Surprising given the level of energy you must have been expending to sustain such a powerful and large freezing field." Her tone had a tinge of awe, and she gave him a curious look. "How are you feeling, Kazuya?"

"A bit tired, but fine." He mentally berated himself for showing off so much of his power already. He had only just gotten here. And what had his father said about trying to keep the extent of his powers under wraps? He would be most upset if he found out, and he probably would. At least they did not know how truly different he really was from any other Limiter in existence.

"Good. Well, I had heard of what happened and I really only came in here to see how you were doing and if you were awake... I should probably go tell them that you're up now. No doubt Dr. Schmitz has a few questions and a few more tests to run on you before you're allowed to walk out of here." She smiled again at him before reaching for the door. She paused to look back at him one more time before walking out.

Kazuya thought it was nice of her to stop by and check on him. He didn't think much more of it as he was still busy trying to remember what exactly had happened. It all seemed so fuzzy in his mind. How had he lost control like that? And so quickly? Something must have gotten over him. But what?

A moment later the door opened and a green-haired woman in a white lab coat walked in. She was staring at him intently as she approached.

"Ah, Kazuya Aoi... you don't mind me calling you Kazuya, do you?" She did not wait for a reply and continued to speak. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Do you remember anything about what happened?" she asked in quick succession, regarding him with a curious look of her own as she stepped close.

"I-I'm fine, really..." Kazuya said a little overwhelmed as her hands reached out and felt his neck and his forehead.

"I'll be the judge of that," she said seriously as she produced a data pad from an inside pocket of her coat. She also had some sort of device in her hands, with which she began to pass it over his body. Her eyes were squinting, focusing on the sensor briefly before her gaze drifted to her pad.

Kazuya decided that silence at this point was best. It was better to let her do her job and get it over with.

She stopped scanning, her eyes still glued to her data pad as she pocketed the scanner. She frowned after a few seconds of studying the data pad.

"Uh... is there something wrong, doctor?" asked Kazuya, suddenly worried. He didn't feel like anything was wrong with him, but for what reason could she be frowning? She must have found something that was not quite right and that troubled him.

Her blue eyes snapped to him. "The problem, Kazuya, is that there's nothing wrong. _Nothing_." she stated simply and with a little frustration in her voice.

"Wait... that's... that's a problem?" He was confused. She should be happy that he was okay, not upset like she was.

"Yes." She was still frowning. "The level of power you displayed out there was tremendous. You should be an absolute wreck at best, and at worst... you should have died out there. But no, here you are fine and well as if nothing major had happened. Not to mention the fact that you performed a freezing field without an Ereinbar set..."

"I'm still not understanding why me being perfectly fine is a bad thing... I mean, I do feel tired..."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something, Kazuya Aoi. And I don't really like secrets..." she paused, "But, I guess that's to be expected from the younger sibling of Kazuha. She was quite the mystery too." She sighed. "I gave up asking her questions after the first few times."

Kazuya looked at her with a tinge of surprise. "You... you knew my sister? You knew Kazuha?" As he said the name, the memories of what happened to him finally flooded back into his mind. He winced at the sudden recall, thankful that the green-haired woman didn't seem to notice as she had been looking out through the window.

"Yes. We were... friends. And teammates too. I was in the Numbers squad with her... and I was there when it happened. When she..." she paused again, "when she sacrificed herself to save us all..." her voice was barely a whisper and she had a faraway look in her eyes, and then she shook her head as she returned to the present. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up again... it's just... I see the resemblance between you two and I..."

"It's fine. I understand how you feel, doctor." Within himself he was feeling very upset about his loss of control earlier. After all this time, after all this training, and he was still too weak to restrain himself and master his emotions. His sister was gone from this world, and he had to make sure he remembered that. He must not lose control like that again. Not if he was to exact vengeance upon those who had taken her away from him.

"You can call me Elize, Kazuya. No need for formalities."

He scratched the back of his head, "Um, is it alright if I call you Doctor Elize?"

She crossed her arms, clearly not liking it. "Well, I guess if that makes you more comfortable. Though you _really_ can just call me Elize, you know."

"I think that'll take a little while before I feel comfortable using simply your first name, ma'am." he said apologetically.

"Ah, fine, fine. Speaking of which, since you're in good health I guess that means you can leave..."

He felt relieved. "Thank you!"

"... but not before you eat something. I'll have a nurse bring in a meal for you and once you've digested a bit I'll discharge you. Is that clear?" she looked at him sternly.

He realized he didn't have much of a choice. "Yes, Doctor Elize."

"Good. And you better eat everything too!" she turned to leave but stopped by the door when Kazuya called out to her.

"Excuse me, but... who was it that I... uhh... Who is the blonde girl that was out there?"

The green-haired doctor half-turned back to him. "You mean you didn't know?" she asked with mild surprise.

Kazuya shook his head and scratched the back of his head again, letting out a nervous laugh.

Elize had a very serious expression on her face, which made Kazuya pay close attention. "Her name is Satellizer L. Bridget. She is a Second year Pandora, and is one of the best this Academy has seen since Chiffon and your sister. She's also known around campus as the Untouchable Queen."

"Satellizer L. Bridget... The Untouchable Queen?"

The doctor nodded. "I'd advise you to stay away from her... and Ganessa Rowland too. That's the redhead, the other Pandora that was out there. She is ranked second only to Satellizer amongst the Sophomores. What you did in the Carnival... well... let's just say both those Pandora probably don't appreciate your interference in their battle. But mostly stay away from Satellizer. She's trouble. Got it? Good." She opened the door and left before Kazuya could ask her why she was considered trouble.

What the doctor had said did not sit well with him. He wanted to apologize to both of them for what happened, but he was not sure how to approach them let alone how to explain his actions. He was sure they were going to ask why he did it, and he wondered what excuse he could give. He did not want to tell them the truth, that he had succumbed to his emotions of grief because he had mistakenly thought Satellizer was his sister back from the dead.

And from what she had said, he was to avoid Satellizer L. Bridget not simply because of what he did at the Carnival but because she apparently gets in trouble. She couldn't be that bad, could she? He wondered why she was trouble and what kinds of supposed trouble she actually got into. It must be serious, or perhaps it happens frequent enough, for one of the staff to say that about her. He would have to do a little research on that.

A moment later, the door opened and a nurse brought in a tray filled with food. For clinic food, it actually looked quite appetizing. But it also helped that he was absolutely starving, as his growling stomach attested to that fact. He wasted no time in digging in to the food.

-**xxxxxx**-

"What are you hiding, Kazuya?" Elize Schmitz murmured to herself as her fingers flew across the keyboard of her computer terminal.

She accessed the student database and quickly searched for Kazuya Aoi. The file on record had nothing of interest, other than that he was a freshman limiter and part of the Aoi family. It was all mostly basic information, which was strange since each student file usually has an accompanying stigmata file that shows a record of their stigmata tissue levels, synchronization rates, and abilities.

Elize sat back for a moment. This was highly unusual, and she wondered what Gengo Aoi wanted to keep a secret. Part of the reason why she was so curious was because Kazuya was a special interest to her - he was Kazuha's little brother after all, not to mention his display of amazing freezing abilities earlier made her even more curious about him. Another part of her curiosity, however, was driven by worry. She worried that he might be a danger to them all, given the experiments that Gengo Aoi were rumored to have conducted on his children.

She leaned forward and exited out of the school database, switching over to the Chevalier system and accessing their personnel files. She had high security clearance because of her position at the Academy as well as her stint with the Numbers squad back when she was an active Pandora. What followed next, therefore, surprised her.

Kazuya Aoi's file in the Chevalier system was inaccessible to her.

**ACCESS DENIED.**  
_You do not have the necessary security clearance to view this file_.

Again Elize sat back, frowning this time as she reread the popup on the screen. She wasn't aware that there was any file that she could not access with her security clearance. Then again, she hadn't found much of a need to use her security clearance to look at files before. She was thinking about what to do next when the door to her office opened. Only one person would come in without knocking.

"How's little Aoi doing?" asked Yumi Kim as she closed the door behind her and walked around the desk, half-sitting on the edge of it as she crossed her arms across her chest. This only served to make her already buxom breasts larger.

"He's perfectly fine, Yumi." replied Elize, blue eyes looking up to meet Yumi's dark brown ones. She said it in a tone that reflected her disbelief.

"That's both unexpected and yet not surprising. He _is _an Aoi after all..." Yumi trailed off, her gaze drifting to the computer screen for the first time. She gave the doctor a confused look. "You're trying to access his files aren't you? I can't say I'm surprised your clearance didn't get you through. Remember Kazuha's?"

Elize nodded, remembering. "Yes, of course I do. But he's not in the same league as Kazuha. He's a Limiter! Admittedly he's a very powerful one, but still... he is no Pandora... Which makes me wonder if there's more to him than we're supposed to think..."

They were silent for a while.

"Let me try mine." Yumi broke the silence as she leaned over and tried using her account. She was still an active Pandora, technically, and held the rank of Captain with the Chevalier.

**ACCESS DENIED.**  
_You do not have the necessary security clearance to view this file_.

Yumi stepped back and crossed her arms again. "Well, it was worth a shot." She had a feeling it would not work when she first tried it.

Elize sighed, grabbing a cup of coffee that was on her desk and sipping at it. It had cooled off and was barely warm, but she drank it anyway. "Do you think that Sister Margaret knows anything?"

"Even if she did, she probably would't tell us unless it was necessary," replied Yumi. She had a point. "Our only option is to try to hack into the system."

"Can you?"

"Move over." Yumi said with a grin.

Elize stood up, taking another sip of her now room-temperature coffee as the brunette sat down and flexed her fingers together.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was released half an hour after he finished his meal.

He was on his way out of the clinic when he bumped into Arthur, who was glad to see him up and about already.

"I was worried you might be out for a while!" said Arthur as they walked back to the dorm together.

"Yeah, they said that everything's fine and I'm healthy." Kazuya glanced at his friend. "What did you hear about what happened?"

"Well, Ganessa told me that you interrupted her final duel with Satellizer... she was not happy about that at all. It took a long while to calm her down," explained Arthur. "I guess in a way it was good that you were knocked out and in the clinic, otherwise she might have hunted you down and hurt you a bit for that little stunt." He laughed a little. "I'd suggest avoiding her for a little while."

"I feel pretty bad about it." Kazuya said honestly, putting his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk.

"If you don't mind me asking, Kazuya... what actually happened? I mean, what made you go in there?"

Kazuya did not want to tell him the whole truth. "I'm not sure, really. Something came over me and I just... had this urge to leap in there. Kinda stupid now that I look back on it." He shrugged to emphasize the point that he was not exactly sure. He hoped that Arthur would understand.

Sure enough, the blonde seemed to be satisfied with that answer. "Maybe it was the adrenaline of seeing such an intense battle or something..." he suggested with a slight frown, "In any case, thankfully you weren't hurt and the instructors were able to get in there before anything happened. Unpaired Limiters are basically regular humans and wouldn't stand a chance against a Pandora. Particularly an angry one."

Kazuya realized then that Ganessa had apparently left out the part about his intense freezing ability when she was recounting the story to Arthur. Either that, or he was being exceptionally mindful and was keeping his curiosity at bay. Most people would, like Dr. Schmitz, be extremely curious about his powers.

They finally reached their dorm when Arthur stopped. Kazuya looked at him questioningly.

"I was actually going to go visit Ganessa again in her dorm and make sure she's feeling okay. It's good to see that you're alright, Kazuya." Arthur flashed a smile and gripped Kazuya's shoulder. "See you in class tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you." Kazuya watched him walk away for a few seconds before heading in to the dorm.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer was curled up in her bed, hugging her soft stuffed bear. She was in her pajamas and under the covers already. Her window was slightly open to allow the crisp, fresh evening air in. The lights were off, but the moonlight shone through the window to cast the room in a faint glow.

The events of the day were running through her mind. The Sophomore Carnival started off like the last one she participated in: she was still way ahead of everyone in her class and so beat them all. Again, it came down to her and Ganessa Rowland. Except this time, some young man interfered in the final battle between the her and Ganessa. Not only that, but he turned out to be some sort of prodigy Limiter.

She had never before seen, or felt for that matter, such freezing power from a Limiter. The only comparable freezing ability was that of the actual Nova themselves, which was astounding to think about. She knew he had activated the freezing field to protect them, and she had a feeling to protect her specifically.

That was not what was truly bothering her about the whole incident though. He had touched her. He had grabbed her, and yet his touch did not make her react like she normally did. Instead of the revulsion and anger that she normally felt when someone touched her, she had felt... embarrassed.

Thinking about it made her cheeks warm and red. She was not even able to get a good look at the young man. His face had been buried in her dress. The way he had held her though, she realized she actually liked it. And that was very strange and uncomfortable for her to admit, but it was true.

What made him different? And why did he launch himself at her like that? The way he had acted, it was as if he had known her. It was like someone who had missed another for a long time and finally saw that person. Yet she knew for a fact that she did not know this person. This young boy was as much a stranger to her as anyone else she did not know.

She had met and known very few people in her life after all. So few, in fact, that she could count them with simply her hands, and none of them were this boy. So she came back to the question of why. Why did he do that? Who was this boy?

No matter how long she pondered the questions in her head, no clear answers came to her. She drifted off into sleep, still thinking about it as she held her bear close.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Is this true?" asked the blue-haired girl, her brown eyes a little unfocused because of the wine she was drinking. This was her third glass of red wine, and it tasted absolutely delicious. She was addressing one of three young men who were attending to her. They were all Limiters, and they were all hers, bound to do her bidding.

"Yes, miss Miyabi," replied the young man she was specifically addressing. "He apparently deployed a freezing field without an Ereinbar and it incapacitated both first and second-ranked sophomores."

Miyabi's left eyebrow raised at that. "Who are those two Pandora again?" She finished the wine and handed it to another of her Limiters, who went to go refill it.

"Satellizer L. Bridget and Ganessa Rowland."

The names sounded familiar. She remembered hearing about them. Well, more so Satellizer than Ganessa. The Untouchable Queen was well-known throughout the Academy after all.

"Ahhh... Mmmm... Yes... That's the spot," she said with pleasure to the Limiter who was massaging her back as she sat on the couch. Her back was feeling a lot better than it was earlier, though she wasn't entirely sure if that was purely because of the massage or if the wine was helping with that. Probably both.

"Do you have a picture?" she asked, and not a moment later one was shown to her. She nodded approvingly, licking her lips with growing excitement. "Yes, he'll do quite nicely."

It was time she added to her collection after all. She wondered if she'd have to discard one of these older ones, but decided that she would determine that at a later time. The priority at this point was to get her new plaything. She couldn't help but touch herself at the thought.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was already up by the time the sun poked its head over the horizon. He had already finished his early morning meditation and proceeded to wake up his body and get the blood flowing with some exercises. Then he readied his things, placing them in his backpack, before dressing in the standard Academy uniform. He was out the dorm and in the cafeteria to grab some breakfast with thirty minutes to spare before his first class.

He was in the classroom with ten minutes to spare as students trickled in. He noted that some of them looked in his direction several times, though he did not acknowledge that he noticed that. He also realized that some of his new classmates were whispering to each other about him. He knew what they were talking about. No doubt news of what happened had already circulated throughout the school, though the extent of what was actually being said was not known to him. He hoped it would not be like this all the time.

"Good morning class! Please take your seats." greeted the teacher as she walked in, a full smile on display as she set her things down on her desk at the front of the class. She took another minute to look over a few things that she had brought with her before finally addressing the class again.

"Well, as you all know by now we have a new transfer student," she looked a Kazuya, "Would you please introduce yourself to everyone?" she asked with a very encouraging tone. She seemed very nice.

Kazuya stood up and walked to the front of the class, turning around to look at the other students. "I'm Kazuya Aoi. Pleased to meet you all."

Again there were murmurs and whispers. A few of the girls he overheard say he was cute, and that made him blush a little.

A girl with short reddish brown hair stood up then. She was actually sitting in the seat next to Kazuya's. She smiled and waved at him as she introduced herself. "I'm Kaho Hiiragi, the class president. Allow me to welcome you on behalf of everyone here. It's nice to meet you! If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be glad ot help you out." She quickly sat down after that, her eyes never leaving Kazuya.

Kazuya felt somewhat relieved that not everyone was so hung up about what had happened yesterday. At least some people were treating him with a little more normalcy.

"Well, Kazuya Aoi, it would appear that you already have a seat. I hope you will enjoy it here in our class and at the Academy as a whole. You can return to your seat now." The teacher was still smiling as she said that, gesturing for him to sit down.

On his way back to his seat, someone walked in late, apologizing to the teacher. It was Arthur. Kazuya was happy that Arthur was in the same class. He felt like he would need a friend to talk to at times to take his mind off all of the training and learning he was planning on doing. He needed to be in the best shape possible, but mentally and physically, for when the Nova returned.

Lunch time arrived at the sound of the bell at noon, causing a lot of commotion in the classroom as everyone began to stand and head to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Kazuya. Have you had lunch yet at the cafeteria? I understand you arrived yesterday." said Kaho, who was suddenly standing right next to him as he was still sitting in his seat.

"Oh, hi Kaho. No, I actually haven't yet... I have had breakfast though. They have good food." He could tell that she seemed to be highly interested in him, but for what reason he did not know. Perhaps she did this with all new students, or she was simply very friendly.

"He hasn't had lunch or dinner at the cafeteria yet because he was _busy_ at the Carnival yesterday," added Arthur, who had come over as well. "Isn't that right, Kazuya?"

"Oh right!" exclaimed Kaho as her hands clasped together in front of her with fingers intertwining, "What a crazy way to start out at the Academy, Kazuya. Getting involved with Satellizer and Ganessa like that. At the Carnival no less. Those two are rivals and are the two best sophomores. No doubt they have you on their hit list or something." She had a worried expression on her face.

Arthur waved his left hand in the air as if to clear away something. "Don't worry about Ganessa. She's cooled off considerably since then."

"Are you sure about that?" Kazuya asked, wanting to be certain.

Arthur gave him a thumbs up. "I'm sure of it."

He seemed pretty confident when he said that, so Kazuya believed him. The last thing he needed was having strained relations with high-ranking Pandoras.

"I feel like it wouldn't hurt to apologize though," Kazuya said tentatively.

"If you really want to, man, go ahead." Arthur said, then added, "You know what? That's probably a good idea. We'll see her at the cafeteria for sure. You can apologize then. That should definitely smooth things over for good."

"Well that's good, but _please _avoid Satellizer at all costs. She's trouble," Kaho reiterated. "Anyway, let's get to the cafeteria. If you liked their breakfasts, wait until you see their lunch options!"

Sure enough, Kazuya was impressed with the selections offered at the cafeteria. He filled up his tray with plates of food and went to sit down with the others. As he walked to the table where Arthur and Kaho sat, he noted several students staring at him; he chose to ignore them. Taking his seat next to Arthur, with Kaho sitting across from him, he dug in to his steak.

"So, Kazuya, have you considered who you want to pair with?" Kaho asked, looked at him intently.

"Hmm?" his mouth was busy chewing and that was the only thing he could muster at the moment.

"I was wondering if you had decided yet who you want to pair with. You know, as Pandora and Limiter.." she trailed off.

Kazuya shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I only just got here so I'm not familiar with who the Pandoras are. I'm assuming there are only a few Pandoras left without Limiters since it's almost midway through the year so I'll have limited options anyway."

Arthur chose this moment to remind them of how grateful he was that Ganessa found him worthy enough to make him her Limiter. He proceeded to gush about her for another minute before some commotion elsewhere distracted them all.

They all turned to look at what was happening. Students were parting quickly, moving out of the way of someone who was walking swiftly towards one of the fast food options, Burger Queen. The only one who did not know what was happening was Kazuya, being the new student and all, but Kaho explained it to him by mentioning who it was.

"It's the Untouchable Queen," she whispered, noticing his quizzical look.

Upon saying that, he managed to catch a glimpse through the throng of students and sure enough it was the blonde Pandora that he vaguely remembered seeing through his haze of emotions at the Carnival. He turned to Kaho and Arthur with a serious expression.

"Does she have a Limiter?"

"Nope. And that's because no one wants to be her Limiter." Arthur said matter-of-factly.

Kaho realized then what he was thinking. "You can't seriously be even considering becoming her Limiter, Kazuya!"

"And why not? She's a Second Year Pandora and the top-ranked one too. If I was to be paired, I would want it to be with the strongest and most capable." He turned to look at Satellizer, who was gathering an armful of burgers.

"But... you... you just can't! She's dangerous! She's crazy!" she whispered fiercely, glancing over to the blonde Pandora as if to make sure she had not heard.

Arthur nodded his head in agreement and placed a hand on Kazuya's shoulder. "She's right, buddy. You shouldn't even consider her. I mean, _I _wouldn't if I had to find a partner. Thankfully I don't have that problem though."

Kazuya was not convinced. "How well do you know her?"

Kaho and Arthur looked at each other uneasily.

"Well, nobody actually knows her..." began Kaho.

"Yeah, she doesn't exactly have friends." Arthur added.

Kazuya sighed. "So let me get this straight. You two don't actually know her, and yet you're judging her as dangerous and someone who I shouldn't get involved with."

"But she _is _dangerous! She isn't the number one ranked Second Year Pandora for nothing!" Kaho said defensively.

"So are you saying all top ranked Pandoras are dangerous and shouldn't be involved with, or just her?" asked Kazuka.

"I.. I... You don't understand!" Kaho looked to Arthur for help.

"Kazuya. Do you know why she's called The Untouchable Queen?" Arthur asked, his voice low.

Kazuya shook his head.

"It's because she doesn't like anybody touching her. If you so much as touch her, she's known to lash out violently. That's why no one's associated with her and no one gets close to her." Arthur explained with a sobering tone, "She's actually a transfer student from East Genetics Academy. And supposedly the reason she transferred was because she had an incident with someone who wanted to be her Limiter."

"An incident?" Kazuya did not like the sound of that.

"Yes. Apparently, this one Limiter wanted to pair with her," he paused, "She supposedly denied him but he persisted. And he grabbed her arm as she was walking away and... well, apparently she went berserk. Had it not been for the fact that there was another Pandora nearby who stopped her..." he trailed off, but what the possible outcome might have been was obvious.

Kazuya was not expecting that. That was indicative of violent, dangerous, and indeed potential unstable behavior. Still, he had touched her at the Carnival and the way she reacted was nowhere near the reaction that Arthur had described. At least as far as he could remember - it was still not too clear in his mind exactly what happened. He decided that he would try to get to know her, if possible. It was not every day after all that a top-ranking Pandora had no Limiter. And if he decided to pair up one day, he wanted it to be with someone who had the skills and the talent to keep up.

A bell rang out, indicating the end of lunch.

"Well, time to get back," Arthur said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the trio. He added with a troubled expression, "Looks like Ganessa skipped lunch today..."

"Right." Kaho stood up, casting a concerned glance towards Kazuya who was still deep in thought.

He stood up and followed them a few seconds later, not one of them saying anything as they returned to class.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Unbelievable," breathed Yumi as she read and then reread the file displayed on the screen.

Kazuya Aoi was not only similar to his sister in that he was special, but his body was comprised of 40% stigmata tissue, which is extremely remarkable because of his gender. Stigmata tissue usually did not take well with males, and given the difference in genders the powers granted by the tissue were different. That difference being females became Pandoras and males became Limiters. At most, a Limiter had about 10% stigmata tissue, with more tissue becoming implanted once paired with a Pandora. The fact that Kazuya already had a mind-boggling amount not only meant that he was by far the strongest Limiter in history, but that he could get even stronger once paired with a Pandora through a Baptism.

"That does explain a lot about what happened at the Carnival," Elize commented as she read the file over Yumi's shoulder. "It doesn't say anything about his abilities, only that he is capable of performing Freezing."

"Were you expecting more?"

"Maybe a little."

"Do you remember Kazuha's file?" asked Yumi, her eyes never leaving the screen.

Elize thought for a moment. "Yes. I think so. Why?"

"Kazuha had 45% stigmata tissue in her body, if I remember correctly, by the time we graduated from the Academy. Which means Kazuya's natural tissue will continue to grow over the next few years." Yumi finally turned around enough to look at the green-haired doctor. "We've never had a Limiter with that much stigmata tissue before. I know we said we'd keep an eye out for him, but we _seriously_ need to do so for sure now after finding this out. He could be a danger to himself and others. Like Kazuha, when she pushed too far..."

"She entered into Nova form..." Elize finished the thought, giving a firm nod as she vividly recalled the moment. "I remember. She was struggling to maintain control, and managed to defeat the Nova by sacrificing herself to save us all... and, in a way, herself."

They paused once more in silence as they remembered their fallen sister-in-arms.

"That was the first instance of Nova form by a Pandora," Yumi stated, "And since then there has been extensive study into the matter. We still haven't been able to find a way for Pandora to enter Nova form and retain control while also being able to return to a normal state at will. At least, not one standard way for all Pandoras, since there _are _some who have shown ability to do so while still maintaining control."

"You mean like Miss Fairchild." Elize recalled the testing done with the current Student President. She was one remarkable Pandora, that was for sure. By far the best since Kazuha, most would agree. "That said, we're not even sure if a Limiter can enter into a Nova form... and what would happen _if _he does become one. We definitely need to keep a close eye on him during practical training."

Yumi nodded, turning back to the screen. "Yes. And perhaps even outside of training too."

-**xxxxxx**-

The full moon shone brightly overhead. A few clouds moved slowly by, blocking some of the stars, though the rest were out twinkling in full force.

Kazuya wanted to practice some of his swordsmanship and blow off some steam, so he took the wooden sword he had brought that was crafted specifically for him. Rudolphe had given it to him as a gift, after having revealed that he could summon a Volt Weapon. It was in the shape of his Volt Weapon, Nova Vengeance, and with some weights built into it in order to make it a little heavier. It was a practice sword after all, and therefore using it meant that he would be stronger when he used his actual weapon.

Classes were relatively boring that day, since most of it was introductions. Not to mention he had already read ahead and studied a bit about each of his classes, so the actual class was more of a review of what he had already learned.

He was still bothered by what happened at the Carnival, and more importantly about what everyone was saying about that Satellizer girl. He did not see her again after lunch, even though he made sure to look around for her. It seemed the only times she had a knack for traveling around campus without being seen, and that she only actually walked amongst the crowd when absolutely necessary, such as at the cafeteria.

He found a nice tucked away courtyard to practice in. No one was around and the windows facing the courtyard were all dark. He began with some basic forms and combinations to warm up, and then did some dynamic stretching to get looser. He eventually began to do more complex forms and combinations.

Kazuya continued for what seemed like half an hour, working up a good sweat, before he stopped. He had this tingling feeling that someone was watching him, and he knew from experience that his instincts were usually spot on in that regard. He relaxed his stance and lowered the sword, though not all the way so that he could bring it up at a moment's notice if necessary.

He slowly looked around and then spotted a group of people in the shadows of one of the buildings.

"I know you're there." he stated simply.

Someone began to clap, slowly. Each clap echoed around the courtyard as the sound bounced off the buildings that surrounded it.

"Impressive." A female voice spoke out as the figures emerged from the shadows.

Kazuya turned slightly to face them head on, his grip on the wooden sword firm.

There were four of them. Three males in standard Academy uniform following a female, who was clearly the leader of the group. She had short hair that went a little past her jawline, the color of which he could not tell given the poor lighting. She was also wearing an Academy uniform, but the top buttons were undone revealing a lot of cleavage and the skirt seemed far too short to be appropriate school attire. She had a lollipop in her mouth that she took out and began to lick, her tongue weaving and curling around it as she looked at him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Kazuya asked in a neutral tone.

She smiled. "I am Miyabi Kannazuki, the Liberator of Virtue. Third-year Pandora." She continued to close the distance between them. Each step she took was slow and deliberate. "Though some may call me the Rookie Limiter Devourer..." she seemed to enjoy that title even more as she said it gleefully and then licked her lips afterwards.

Miyabi finally stopped a few feet away from him, her eyes darting to the sword momentarily before returning to meet Kazuya's gaze. "And you, my dear boy, must be Kazuya Aoi. Am I right?"

"What are you doing here?" Kazuya asked again, ignoring her.

"Isn't it such a beautiful night?" she asked, ignoring him in return. She continued to lick seductively at her lollipop, this time her free hand began to run up and down her own body, which Kazuya was trying hard to ignore.

Kazuya simply stared at her face, emotionless.

"It is such a lovely night to have a Baptism," she continued, "Wouldn't you agree?"

His eyes narrowed at that. Her intentions were still unclear, but he did not like what she was talking about.

"You see, I like young boys... like yourself. As you can see, I have three here with me already." She waved her hand nonchalantly at the three young men standing some ways behind her. They were glaring at him, though they said nothing.

"What do you want? Spit it out." He was getting tired of this interruption to his practice.

Again she smiled. "So direct and forceful. I like that." She licked her lips. "Well, I guess there's no point in prolonging it. I want you, Kazuya Aoi. I want you to be mine. I want you to be one of my Limiters. In return, you will have my... _affections_." She took the lollipop out again and began playing with it using her tongue.

While he was admittedly turned on a little by this, he was not about to pair with some unknown Pandora. Especially when he did not choose to do it himself, and even further he was not going to be another addition to her collection, which he did not approve of.

"Oh, and I _won't_ take no for an answer." She added, noticing that he had not replied and appeared to be mulling it over.

Kazuya half-turned away. "Then I'm sorry to disappoint, Miyabi Kannazuki, but the answer actually _is _no."

Miyabi lurched forward, her face contorted in anger. "Why you..." but she did not finish that statement as Kazuya spun around quickly, wooden sword swinging. The lollipop exploded into dozens of fragments as the sword hit it. The short-haired woman stood there in shock, eyes wide in disbelief that he had actually swung at her.

"I missed on purpose," he said in a low tone. "Now please, I don't want any trouble. If you'll excuse me I'll be on my way now."

He turned around and began to walk away.

"You... you... bastard. How _dare _you?! I am Miyabi Kannazuki! You dare refuse me? You insolent... arggh!" she yelled in anger.

Kazuya frowned as he stopped in place, suddenly finding himself subjected to a Freezing field. It was decently strong, and that was when he realized that all three Limiters must have cast Freezing on him. He did not like this one bit, his mind springing into action as to what he needed to do next.

Miyabi walked around and appeared in front of him, a maniacal smile on her face as her eyes looked at him with an intense hatred. "I'm going to punish you for disrespecting me in such a fashion. And since I can't have you, well... I'll make sure no one else will." She let out a crazed laugh that echoed eerily around the courtyard.

She took his sword from his hand and threw it aside. Then she slammed a fist into his gut, which hurt a great deal. And then another. And another. She hit him several more times. Each one stronger than the last. It was painful, but nothing he could not handle. He had felt worse before, though he needed to put a stop to it before any serious damage was done. He did not want to spend another night in the infirmary.

He needed to be absolutely sure of her intentions though before he acted, so he waited a little longer and endured the pain of her beating. Sure enough, after a few more choice blows she eventually summoned her Nova Weapon. Several daggers energized in mid-air, floating around her, and she eyed him with murderous intent.

Instantly, however, her expression turned from murderous smugness to sudden panic. Kazuya immediately activated his own Freezing field, which shot out around him and encompassed the entire courtyard in a sudden blast of energy. It negated the Freezing fields of the three Limiters and froze them and Miyabi completely in place.

Miyabi could not believe it. She had heard of his amazing Freezing abilities and that was partly why she wanted him to be her own, but this was beyond anything she could have imagined. Not only did he counter the Freezing of three separate Limiters, but he also managed to freeze them all, herself included, completely. He did all this while walking around too, which again was something that should have been impossible, especially for a freshman Limiter.

This time, it was Kazuya's turn to grin as he rubbed the spots where she had hit him. He then walked slowly over to his practice sword, picking it up. First, he dealt with the Limiters. One by one he smacked them around several times before knocking them out, making sure not to do too much damage. Then he turned to Miyabi, whose eyes were suddenly full of fear as she watched him come closer.

He shook his head as he looked at her daggers and then turned his gaze to her. "You are not worthy of being a Pandora, let alone my partner. You are filth. If I so much as see you again, let me assure you that you will no longer be a Pandora once I'm through with you. Remember that well, _Devourer_."

Kazuya paused to let the words sink in and then in rapid succession hit her three times. Twice in the torso and one hard hit to the side of the head to knock her out. He then cancelled his Freezing field, noting the energy expenditure. He could have held the field for far longer, though it still made him feel a bit tired. He tried to keep the field smaller this time around, but he was still having trouble properly controlling his Freezing powers. At least this was an opportunity to practice his control, though he disliked the reason he had to use it.

He left the four of them in the courtyard after making sure they were still breathing. He had been careful to make sure his blows would not kill them, but it paid to be safe in that matter. He did not want to cause any trouble with the Academy and the authorities after all - there would be one hell of a shit storm if he somehow ended up killing one of them.

In any case, he hoped that he had gotten through to Miyabi. Though somehow he had a feeling this was not the last time he would hear from her. If that did happen, he would have to make sure to make good on his word.

* * *

**Author's notes: **I'm sorry it took so long to update. There are so many things going on in my life right now that writing has taken a backseat. Updates will be slow, but I promise once again that all stories I start will be finished, in time.

Also, please note that I have changed the percentage of stigmata tissue for Kazuya. Again, I will remind you that this is my fanfic and I am not limited by canon, merely guided by it. I go where my imagination takes me.


	8. Simulation Room 11

**UnLimited**

_Simulation Room 11_

* * *

For the next two days, Kazuya was extra alert whenever he walked outside. While this served to distract him somewhat from conversations he was having, he needed to be cautious. He knew that the upperclassman who accosted him would hold a grudge about it and would probably try to act. Thankfully, nothing had happened so far though he was reluctant to let his guard down just yet. She had to be plotting some form of revenge, but what he did not know.

He had told no one of what had happened, and he knew that Miyabi did not tell anyone either. She seemed to have a lot of pride and was wrapped up in her ego enough that she would refrain from spreading that story. To have been defeated by a Freshman Limiter was outrageous and embarrassing after all.

Arthur had seen him a few times with his sword and they had talked about it. Apparently Arthur had received some kendo training and the blonde had asked if they could spar at some point. Kazuya agreed, of course. How could he refuse after being seen with his sword? It would have been rude to decline him. He simply had to make sure that he dialed it back so as to not give away his enhanced strength and speed.

"Ah! Hello Kazuya!" greeted the now familiar voice of Chiffon Fairchild. He had seen the Student Council President a few times since he first arrived, and he often enjoyed her company. This meeting was quite unexpected, however, and he wondered what she was doing today.

Kazuya stopped walking and turned around. "Good morning, Chiffon! How are you doing?"

"I'm well, thank you. Are you enjoying your time here at the Academy so far?" she asked in return.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. It's been very... interesting so far."

"Please, Kazuya. Try not to say ma'am when talking to me... it really does make me feel like I'm old."

"Sorry, Chiffon. I'll try to remember that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So what are you up to?" she asked, tilting her head a little to the side as she looked at him. The wind played with her short brown hair a little, and she was smiling as usual. He really found her smile to be very attractive, plus she was very cute to begin with.

He realized he had not said anything and was simply staring at her and he looked away quickly as he immediately stammered out a reply. "I-I uhh.. I'm a-actually heading to the -uh- libr-rary! Yes. I was heading there. B-because I was going to read some books." He hazarded looking back at her and found that her smile was a little wider, though he was not entirely sure of that.

"Books? What kind of books?"

"Oh, I'm just interested in reading about more advanced tactics and strategies while fighting Nova. I've already read through the basics for my Introductory Strategic Nova Fighting class, which are mostly fundamental military tactics applied to fighting the Nova, to be honest."

"Ah, so you're taking Mister Koga's class? What do you think of it?" she inquired further. Chiffon was impressed that he was trying to learn more and how quickly he seemed to have mastered the material. She was curious as to how he already knew about basic military strategies, but decided not to question him on that.

Again, he nodded. "Yes. He's a very good instructor!"

There was a short silence before Kazuya spoke again.

"So, uhh.. Chiffon, what are you doing today?"

"Oh, I'm on my way to the Simulation Hall for some training time, actually. It's been a while since I've been able to brush up on my skills and the hall is usually not very busy at this time," she replied as she brushed some stray hair that was blown across her face by a sudden breeze.

Kazuya looked at her questioningly, "Simulation Hall?"

"Yes. It was actually built prior to the Arena, which uses the same technology. There are large rooms inside that use highly advanced simulation technology to create simulated battle situations using dummy Nova," she explained, "It's very useful for training as you can imagine."

"Wow, that is amazing!" Kazuya said truthfully. He wished he had access to such technology at home when he was training all these years. He had still yet to fight a Nova, and even a simulated one would at least give him experience. He made a mental note to ask his father about that matter the next time he spoke to him. Surely the great Gengo Aoi would have been able to grant him access to a facility such as this, or at least to have one built for him. Particularly if it was so effective for training for actual combat. That was, after all, what he has been training to do all this time.

"It really is quite amazing, isn't it?" she repeated his words, still smiling.

Kazuya hesistated at first, but then decided to go ahead and ask. "Chiffon. Do you think I could watch you train for a little while? I'd love to see the Simulation Hall and how it works after all. Plus," he added, "I would very much like to see you fight." He knew that she was currently the top-ranked Third Year Pandora, and was apparently considered to be in the top five Pandoras worldwide.

As Rudolphe told him many times, _"To be the best you have to beat the best. But not only that, you have to learn from them too when you can."_

Chiffon thought for a moment, and then replied. "I don't see why not. Sure. Why don't we go there now?"

"Lead the way!" Kazuya said enthusiastically.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer yawned as she stepped out of her dorm. She took off her glasses momentarily as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand before returning the glasses to their proper place.

There were not too many people out, and in fact there were none immediately outside the dorm so for a little while she enjoyed being the only one walking outside. While she did not care about what other people thought and how other people reacted when around her, she still noticed it and that alone was rather annoying. She had grown quite numb to it already, but it still sometimes annoyed her, and that was more than enough. Eventually though she encountered several of her Academy classmates, all of whom made sure to stay out of her way, giving her a wide berth as she passed. As usual, they were ignored.

She went to the cafeteria and again got an armful of Burger Queen burgers, which was practically all she ate. She had her reasons, the biggest being that she simply loved burgers. She usually got five regular ones and five cheeseburgers to add a little variety. Each one was thankfully packed with a few vegetables thrown in, so she did get some healthy aspect to it; the meals were regulated and made sure they were as healthy as possible, even the burgers.

As was customary, she walked to one of the nearby buildings and made it to the roof before sitting down and eating her stash of burgers. Sometimes she ate on the roof of the cafeteria itself, but people were often up there and she had learned to avoid that place if she wanted to be sure not to run in to anyone. When she was done, she sat leaning against a wall and in its shade, looking up at the sky. She pushed her glasses up, as they had slid a little while she was eating.

It was a beautiful day. Sunny, with nary a cloud in sight. Several birds flew about overhead, soaring high over the campus. She wished she could fly like the birds did. To simply leap into the air and soar high into the clouds. As a Pandora, she was able to jump extremely high, but she was sadly unable to fly. She had tried several times, willing herself to simply ignore gravity and float through the air. It did not work, however, and she soon learned that it would never happen.

She sensed motion to her far left and she turned her head slightly, eyes darting towards it. There was someone else on the roof. Then her eyes narrowed as she identified who it was.

"Well hello, Satellizer L. Bridget. I thought I might find you here."

-**xxxxxx**-

Arthur Crypton looked everywhere in the cafeteria, but could not find Ganessa anywhere. He had even asked one of the girls to check the women's restrooms for him, to no avail. She simply left, which was very unlike her. He wondered what it was that made her leave him like that. They had only just finished breakfast after all. Sometimes he could not understand her, but he knew that given more time he would eventually be able to understand her more.

They were only a couple of months into their pairing after all. Such things take time, he knew that, so he was always patient and always willing to do his best for her. He was so lucky to have been chosen by such a great Pandora.

Hours of discussion with Ganessa over what happened at the Arena led to her accepting that what Kazuya did was not on purpose and for whatever reason he lost control of himself. At least, that's what Arthur argued with her over. While Ganessa had been very reluctant to forgive the transfer student for such a transgression, she said that she had found it within herself to forgive him simply because Arthur truly wanted her to.

He smiled as he remembered that. She had done something extremely difficult for him, and he knew then that their relationship was truly growing.

Still, she was not one to leave business unfinished and he knew that she would try to go after Satellizer at some point. He knew it was against the rules, but in this he was certain she would not listen to him. Satellizer was her number one rival, after all. The only one who continued to best his Ganessa, and he understood her frustration and her desire to win against her. To finally beat her and show that she too was strong.

Grabbing an apple for the walk back to his dorm, he took a big bite out of it as he left the cafeteria. He only hoped that she would not get into too much trouble when that fateful day came that she would confront Satellizer about their unfinished battle.

-**xxxxxx**-

The Simulation Hall turned out to be on the other side of campus, much to Chiffon's momentary embarrassment as she explained that she liked to take the 'scenic route' around campus to get there, not that she was lost or anything. It helped her when she wanted to think about things apparently, and Kazuya understood that perfectly and said as much to her.

"Once we get there, I'll introduce you to my Limiter and then take you to the observation deck of the simulation room I'll be using. From there you'll be able to see everything that happens. Got it?" she explained to him as they walked past a few dorms.

"Got it." He had forgotten that she had a Limiter. He wondered what he was like and how their relationship was. They must have been together for years now, so he had no doubts they were close. Kazuya found himself feeling a tad jealous of the man who was able to land Chiffon as his partner. She was cute, smart, _and _the strongest Pandora of them all.

They were nearing the dining hall when all of a sudden there was a massive explosion overhead.

"Look out!" Chiffon cried, grabbing Kazuya and in a rush of wind speedily getting them both out of the way of some falling debris.

Kazuya mentally cursed himself for not paying attention and not reacting faster. He should have been the one to get them to safety, though there was not much time to think about that as they both looked up to see what was going on.

"Is that...?" Kazuya began to see as his eyes registered the situation.

Chiffon said nothing, simply watching.

Satellizer L. Bridget had landed in a controlled manner on the ground, avoiding the debris that had fallen. She was kneeling on her right leg, her Volt Weapon was out and in her right hand. It looked like a very menacing blade, and Kazuya remembered seeing it for a brief moment when he had tackled her at the Carnival. He noticed that she was looking up at the roof of the building in front of her.

Following her gaze, he realized that there was another Pandora up there. She had long burgundy red hair in two ponytails that went off to the side. Chained flails stretched out from her back as she looked down on Satellizer menacingly. Ganessa Roland and Satellizer were apparently settling their interrupted Carnival battle.

"A tie is simply unacceptable, wouldn't you agree Satellizer?" Ganessa said in a controlled tone. "There must always be a clear winner, and this fight shall decide that."

The blonde Pandora said nothing, standing up with her Volt Weapon at the ready.

"I was afraid this would happen..." whispered Chiffon, shaking her head as they hid behind a low wall nearby.

Ganessa launched herself off the edge of the damaged rooftop and, while in mid-air, sent her chained flails down to attack Satellizer. She launched a similar attack during the Carnival, though this time instead of dodging the chains Satellizer simply blocked them all with Nova Blood, her weapon. Ganessa landed with a slight thud, crouching low to the ground as her legs absorbed the impact. Immediately after, her chained flails were once again on the attack.

All six headed straight for Satellizer, who had yet to move from her spot. A second before they impacted, she finally moved and dodged them all. Three of the chains managed to rip some of her clothing, however. One in particular ripped the front part of her dress, showing parts of her bra and exposing more of her chest.

Kazuya could not help but notice the bust of the blonde Pandora. They were a lot bigger than he thought they were. He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of such thoughts. This was not the time or place for that. He stole a glance in Chiffon's direction and was thankful that she had not noticed and was still observing the fight closely.

"Uh, Chiffon... shouldn't you be stopping this?" Kazuya whispered quickly to her as the two Pandora continued to fight in the street. There was a growing crowd now, at a far enough distance to be safe but close enough to see much of the action.

Chiffon balked at the question. "Well, uhh... This is a serious situation that should be handled by the faculty, who should be coming at any moment now." She did not want to meddle in the affairs between students anyway. In truth she understood that sometimes due to the competitive nature of the program, and of the Pandoras themselves, the girls needed to settle things between them. Chiffon was all for letting them air out their grievances and settle their scores with each other, so long as they did not take it too far.

She would definitely step in if things truly got out of hand. But so far with Satellizer and Ganessa that was not the case and she was happy to both let the faculty take care of it and to let the girls settle their business with each other. Besides, she also believed that the only proper use of Pandora powers was against the Nova, not other Pandoras. She would save that sort of action as a last resort, though she had rarely ever been forced to do so in her three years at West Genetics. And with these types of girls, the use of force was more than likely the best option to get them to listen.

Kazuya was not convinced, but did not press the issue as he returned to watching the fight.

In all, the battle had only lasted a little over a minute so far. Satellizer seemed to be toying with Ganessa a little bit, the redhead getting extremely upset and agitated. Her attacks were always close, but she had yet to draw blood although she did manage to tear up some more of Satellizer's dress. The blonde did not seem to care however.

"Damn you, Satellizer! Why won't you just die dammit! Die! Die!" yelled Ganessa as her chains sped through the air at a suddenly faster speed.

Satellizer responded by moving in faster. Then, as if deciding that she had had enough, the blonde swiped her giant blade around so fast that it was barely visible. A second later and all six chains had been severed, the ends with the flails flying off to the sides.

Ganessa gasped, stunned that her weapons were momentarily crippled in one attack. That momentary pause by Ganessa was all that Satellizer needed to move in for the kill. Sure enough, in a blur the blonde was suddenly several feet behind Ganessa with her sword up across and above her body.

The redhead's eyes went wide in shock as not a moment later blood sprayed out from a large gash that suddenly appeared on the right side of her torso. Blood spilled out from her mouth as she fell to her knees, hands reaching to clutch at her serious wound. Instead of falling to the ground, defeated, the Second-Ranked Sophomore let out a war cry, her eyes filled with rage.

"If I can't beat you like this... then... then I'll have to break the rules! PANDORA MODE!" yelled the redhead loudly.

"This is not good..." Chiffon commented. Things were definitely escalating and she was beginning to contemplate stepping in. Where were the teachers?

Kazuya could not believe his eyes at what he was seeing and actually rubbed them to look again, making sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

Ganessa's body began to glow, and her eyes were glowing especially bright. Rushing air circled her, her hair whipping around violently, as she began to float. Then, in a flash of light she stretched out all her limbs and let out another cry of anger. Blue rings of energy circled her wrists and ankles, her red hair suddenly turned completely white, and her eyes glowed yellow. All six chained flails were also repaired.

Satellizer held a hand up to block some of the bright light and protect her eyes, her hand tensing around the handle of her weapon as her dress billowed about from the wind generated from the transformation.

"What is going on? What is this?" asked Kazuya, confused and awed. He could sense the power emanating from the changed Ganessa.

Chiffon finally turned away from the two Pandoras fighting and looked at Kazuya, who turned to her as well. "This is Pandora Mode, Kazuya. It is a state that Pandoras can enter in which their power is augmented considerably. They become faster and stronger while their Volt Weapon becomes a Nova Weapon, which is also more powerful than the normal Volt Weapon. Not only that, but Pandora Mode allows a Pandora to move freely around in a Freezing field without a Limiter," she explained quickly as she returned her gaze to observing the two Pandora battling in the street.

"Pandora Mode... wow." said Kazuya as he too looked back at the two Pandoras fighting. He wondered briefly if he could enter into Pandora Mode as well, but figured it would be best to talk to his father about that. There was a lot of stuff he was not sure of, and he did not want to go trying things that might end up killing him. Not until he had the chance to avenge his sister would he accept dying.

Satellizer had moved further away, her weapon raised and ready. She looked a little surprised that Ganessa had activated Pandora Mode, though she did not look in the least bit intimidated by it.

"Miss Roland! Please stop this at once! Pandora Mode is only for actual combat situations!" yelled Chiffon, still partly hidden next to Kazuya behind the low wall.

Ganessa either did not hear her or chose to ignore her, gazing directly at Satellizer the entire time that Chiffon had been speaking.

"Now, Satellizer L. Bridget. Now I will make you bleed. I will make you pay. I will make you _lose_." With that Ganessa's chains extended, flails menacingly racing towards her opponent at a speed much faster than earlier. Satellizer was forced to both dodge and block at the same time, the attacks were a constant barrage and Satellizer was suddenly being pushed much more than she was used to.

One flail managed to sneak past her defense, but instead of piercing her it merely smacked into her chest and sent her flying back. She flew towards the low wall, hitting it with a smack and a short but sharp cry of pain.

"Miss Satellizer!" Kazuya suddenly cried out, standing up and exposing himself over the low wall as he checked on the blonde Pandora.

She seemed fine, though a little worse for wear. She seemed slightly dazed for a second before her eyes returned focus. She turned and, realizing who he was, suddenly... blushed?

Kazuya could not tell for sure because at that moment Ganessa's chains suddenly wrapped around Satellizer, who gasped in surprise and pain as the chains wrapped tight around her. She was squeezed, eliciting another cry of pain as she was raised up off the ground. More of her dress was ripped and some blood began to drip from various cuts all over her body.

"Stay focused on the fight, Satellizer!" Ganessa began to laugh. Afterwards she spoke, "That's it? Is that all Satellizer L. Bridget? That's all you've got?"

Four of the chains held Satellizer in place while the two other chains slashed at her in a seemingly random manner.

"Pandora Mode is unbelievable... with this... with this I feel _invincible_. I can win against anyone! Especially you, Satellizer L. Bridget!" She began to laugh again, drunk with sudden power, the adrenaline of battle, and her desire to defeat Satellizer. "Now what to do with you?"

One of the flails left a nasty gash along her torso at that moment, and again Satellizer let out a cry of pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the blood that seemed to be covering almost every part of her body at this point.

"Miss Roland! _Please _stop this now! You have gone _too _far!" Chiffon said forcefully, though she still hid behind the low wall.

"That's for the wound you gave me earlier," Ganessa told her as she again ignored the Student Council President, "Now if you concede defeat, I promise that I won't tear you into a thousand pieces. So concede!"

Satellizer was either too weak to say anything or too stubborn to concede, Kazuya was not sure. Whatever the case, he could not sit by any longer and allow this to happen. He needed to do something, and he decided to intervene before it got any worse.

"STOP THIS NOW!" he yelled as he jumped over the low wall.

Ganessa suddenly seemed to realize that there were people around. She looked at the other students in the distance and then at Kazuya, who at that point had gotten in between her and Satellizer, careful to avoid the chains as he did so. He then stretched out his arms towards the sides, palms flat and facing her, in a stance that meant he was protecting the blonde Pandora.

"You've already won, Ganessa. Don't you see? You are victorious. Now let her go! This is enough! Let her go!" He yelled with conviction.

She did not seem to recognize him, still blind with rage and power. A flail smacked into his side and sent him to the ground painfully.

He cursed himself for reacting too slow. He had actually sensed it, but was unable to do much about it. He got on his hands and knees, bruised a little but otherwise fine. He turned to Ganessa and was about to activate his Freezing when Satellizer suddenly let out a battle cry of her own.

Upon seeing Kazuya get struck down, she felt a sudden renewed vigor inside of her. A desire to protect him, for he had tried to protect her. Whatever his reasons for doing so, she did not know, but it touched her. This boy made her feel so... different. It was a strange thing, something she did not understand, but what she did know was that seeing him get hurt like that made her blood boil.

She felt power course through her as she inadvertently activated her own Pandora Mode. Bright light engulfed her as the chains that bound her tore apart into hundreds of little pieces. Blue rings appeared on her wrists and ankles as well as the wind swept around her in a similar manner as when Ganessa activated earlier. Her dress was repaired and her weapon re-materialized in her right hand. Her blonde hair turned sheer white and her eyes glowed with a yellow energy.

Ganessa could not believe her luck. Here she was, in her most triumphant moment, and yet Satellizer surprises her again. She knew the attack was coming and willed her weapons to re-materialize themselves. As this was happening however, Satellizer moved to attack her and she knew it would be too late by the time her weapons were ready. She closed her eyes and braced for the pain of the biting edge of Satellizer's weapon, but it never came.

Kazuya was impressed at the speed of the instructors, once they eventually got their of course. Though unbeknownst to them all they had been watching the last few moments to see what was going on and assess the situation so as to determine how to handle it.

Both Elize Schmitz and Yumi Kim had their Volt Weapons out and stood in between the two of them. Yumi actually held her lance, Getsuro, close to Satellizer with the sharp edge near her neck in order to block her more effectively from moving towards Ganessa. Elize stood closer to Ganessa with her two daggers, eyeing her cautiously.

"That's enough of a show, ladies," said Yumi in an authoritative and serious tone. "We can't sit back and watch this any longer. This fight is over. Release Pandora Mode at once."

Kazuya was not sure if he heard them correctly. They were actually watching this? Why did they not put a stop to this sooner? He figured now was not the time to ask such questions. He was distracted by hands that suddenly and gently grabbed his right arm and shoulder. He turned and saw it was Chiffon.

"Are you okay, Kazuya?" she asked, worriedly.

He again was taken aback by her concern for him. "Y-yes, Chiffon. I'm okay. Really."

She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "That's good." She proceeded to help him on to his feet.

They looked back at the scene before them and found that both Satellizer and Ganessa were no longer in Pandora mode. Their clothes were repaired and their injuries from the earlier fighting were actually healed, much to Kazuya's surprise. Apparently entering into Pandora mode also activated a one-time rapid regeneration and healing sequence, or at least he thought it did. He would have to confirm that later.

"Now you two come with us. We need to talk." Yumi said with finality as she began to walk, Elize and the two Sophomores following right after her.

Chiffon turned to Kazuya, "Everything should be fine now." She looked around with her lips pursed in a line, "Although there is quite a lot of damage here. Hopefully it won't take too long to clean it up and repair it all."

Kazuya realized then that this was the first time he had not seen her smiling, even a little.

That did not last long as she smiled again after about another minute of silence. "Well, that was quite an exciting display... are you still interested in seeing me train, Kazuya?"

The young transfer student could not help but laugh a little at the sudden change of demeanor. "Yes, Chiffon. I am most definitely still interested."

-**xxxxxx**-

"So, those Sophomores can activate Pandora mode already? Impressive." said a petite, silvery-haired girl to her two companions.

One was a girl with long red hair and the other had short white hair that went barely past her ears.

"Elizabeth might be interested to know about this," said the white-haired girl as she crossed her muscular arms across her chest.

The three of them had watched the entire spectacle from a rooftop of a nearby building. They had been leaving the cafeteria when the fighting began and were quick to find a good vantage point. After all, it was not every day that there was such good entertainment.

"Yes, who knew that Sophomores could access Pandora mode so easily? None of us, except for Chiffon of course, managed to do so until early this year," the redhead chimed in.

The crowd that had gathered on the street watched them leave before going about their day, the spectacle that interrupted it having ended.

"In any case, we should keep our eyes on them for now. They're trouble. I can feel it," said the petite girl, watching as the two Pandora were escorted away by the instructors, her hand reaching up to twirl some of her curly silver locks.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall of her cell. She was in the Detention Center, where troublemakers were sent both as punishment and to cool off. This was not the first time, nor the last, that Pandoras fought outside of training and the Arena. It was expected, though as much effort as possible was put in place to ensure such events did not happen frequently. When order does break down, the offending Pandoras are sent here.

This was a minor incident, with neither party being seriously hurt and with some property damage, thus she was only being held for an hour as a "cool off" period.

Ganessa was no doubt in the same situation on the opposite end of the Detention Center, in a totally different wing. The point after all was to cool them off and that meant separating the involved parties for some time. The redheaded Pandora was being held for two hours, one more than Satellizer, because she was the one who instigated the fight and switched into Pandora mode first.

Satellizer sighed. She had waited too long to strike. She should have finished off Ganessa as soon as possible, but a part of her wanted her to experience the humiliation of seeing how far their skill levels really were. She had not expected the redhead to go so far as to activate Pandora Mode, but looking back on it she should have known that her supposed rival would go to such lengths to win. If she were in Ganessa's position, she probably would have done the same thing.

Thinking of Pandora Mode made her briefly relive the moment when she activated it herself for the first time. She was not sure how she did it. It was a combination of intense willpower and desire as well as emotion that seemed to trigger it. She was aware that the Third Year curriculum involved learning about the high-powered mode, but other than that she had not paid too much attention to it because she had yet to be able to achieve that state.

Once activated for the first time a Pandora should be able to activate the mode later on, with each subsequent activation becoming a little easier, though not by much. She resolved to study more on the subject so that she can better be able to control it as well as to learn about its strengths and limitations, though while in Pandora Mode it felt to her like there were no limitations.

The rush of power. The sense of invincibility. It was invigorating. She did note that once she deactivated it she felt extremely sluggish and tired, trudging along after the instructors. Both she and Ganessa did not notice that they were in fact walking side-by-side at one point because of their exhaustion. That seemed like a drawback right there. She would still need to confirm that with some study to be sure.

After a while, her thoughts turned to the young man who was there at the fight earlier. The same man who interrupted the Arena fight, she was sure of it. His voice was the same, and he had the same hair and build. When she had seen him and heard him, her body felt strange. Suddenly hot and she felt nervous. That distracted her long enough for Ganessa to get the jump on her.

She sighed again. What was it with that boy that made her feel so different? And why did he stick up for her again, risking his safety to protect her? He was just a Limiter! What could he do against a Pandora? Especially one in Pandora Mode. She could not understand his motives and thought that perhaps she would ask him, if given the chance.

Footsteps in the hallway brought her attention back to her situation. She hugged her knees to her chest as she watched the person in the hallway stop in front of her cell. It was Yumi Kim, the physics and training instructor.

Yumi looked at her with a stern expression, her lips pursed in a line and her arms folded in front of her. She was up close, almost against the bars of the cell.

"You'll be released soon," the instructor stated flatly.

Satellizer did not respond as she looked down at the ground, still hugging her knees to her chest with her back against the far wall. She honestly did not mind being locked up, at least for the moment. She needed to be alone anyway, not that she was not most of the time.

"I'm here to simply tell you one thing: don't involve yourself with Kazuya Aoi anymore. If he is hurt in any way, and you happen to be involved... there will be potentially _fatal_ consequences. I say this as a former member of the Numbers Squad. Do you understand?" Yumi's eyes flashed threateningly. There was a coldness to her voice that affected even Satellizer, making her involuntarily shiver ever so slightly.

Satellizer looked up and met her gaze, to show that she was not afraid even though deep down she actually was a tiny bit. Not much frightened her, which goes to show the reputation of the Numbers Squad amongst Pandoras. Only the truly elite few in the entire world were recruited into the Numbers Squad.

Her message delivered, Yumi left without another word or backward glance.

The blonde Pandora who sat in her cell lowered her head and looked at her shoes as she processed the name given to her. _Kazuya Aoi? Could he really be...? _

-**xxxxxx**-

"Hey Chiffon," Kazuya spoke quietly as they neared the Simulation Hall.

The Student Council President gave him a curious glance. "What is it, Kazuya?"

"Who was the brunette instructor earlier? I've met Doctor Elize before when... well, you know... and I was just wondering..."

Chiffon nodded. "Her name is Yumi Kim, and she was also a member of the Numbers Squad during the 8th Nova Incursion. She is currently the Physics and Training instructor of the Academy and holds the rank of Captain in the Chevalier."

Kazuya thanked her for explaining as he processed the information about Miss Yumi Kim. He did not have long since they arrived in front of the Simulation Hall after a few more seconds.

"Here it is!" she exclaimed, gesturing towards the metallic front doors.

They slid open on their own as they approached and they walked inside. The hallways were clean, the color scheme white and silver. Much like the clinic, this place seemed sterile and neutral.

They made their way to Simulation Room 11, where a young man about the same height as Kazuya was waiting.

He was leaning against the wall with his left shoulder so he was facing them as they approached. He had dark blue hair styled much in the same way as Kazuya and light blue eyes that shone with respect and friendliness. Sure enough, his personality reflected that.

"Miss Chiffon. Sir," the Limiter bowed his head in greeting to both of them.

Chiffon smiled though she spoke in a more serious and formal tone. "Eugene, sorry I'm late. Something came up." She then gestured between the two Limiters. "Kazuya, this is Eugene, my Limiter. Eugene, this is Kazuya. He's a Freshman transfer student here."

"Pleased to meet you, Kazuya." Eugene extended his hand and Kazuya shook it as they both smiled at each other.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Eugene."

Chiffon then spoke up. "Okay. Let's get started. Eugene, wait for me inside while I make sure Kazuya gets situated in the Observation Deck."

"Understood." With that he entered the simulation room through sliding metal doors with a large number 11 painted on them.

As he entered, Kazuya caught a glimpse of the room inside and marveled at how big it looked. The building must have extended farther back than he realized to accommodate for the size of each of these rooms.

Chiffon went through another door, this time a singular sliding steel door that said 'Observation Deck 11' on it. The door opened immediately into a small lift that activated as the door slid shut. Within another few seconds they appeared in a small room with large bay windows looking out into a white-washed and empty room, save for Eugene of course who stood in the middle of the room patiently.

Ticy Phenyl was the only one there in the Observation Deck and she greeted them both as they arrived.

"President Chiffon," she bowed her head slightly, smiling. She then turned to Kazuya, looking a little surprised. "Kazuya, it's a pleasure to see you here."

Kazuya smiled and was about to reply when Chiffon cut him off.

"He wanted to see some of my training," she informed her. "Sorry we were delayed, there was an... incident."

"Oh? An incident?" Ticy asked, suddenly curious.

Chiffon gave a curt nod. "Yes. We'll talk about it later, Tish. I need to get started on the training for today."

"Right. I'll have the simulation up and running once you're ready."

Chiffon turned to Kazuya. "If you need anything, ask Tish." She smiled again and then left, appearing in the middle of the room a few seconds later.

Ticy was manning the computer controls on the Observation Deck, standing as her hands flew across the board pressing all manner of buttons and then typing into a keyboard. She spoke into a microphone that was sticking out from one of the panels.

"Are you ready, Miss President?" she asked.

Chiffon gave a thumbs up.

"Simulation initiating in ten seconds," she called out.

Kazuya edged closer to the windows.

-**xxxxxx**-

Outside the Simulation Hall, Miyabi Kannazuki raised a hand to the side of her head. The pain had long subsided, the hit she took from the Freshman Limiter the other night had swelled and bruised. Thankfully most of it was hidden underneath her hair, and no one paid close enough attention to notice, but she was mighty upset at what had happened.

She had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back. Her attack would have to be quick enough that he would not have enough time to activate his abnormally powerfully Freezing field. At first she wanted to observe his movements to find the perfect time to strike, but he seemed to have been expecting that as he had been on alert so they were not able to follow him as closely as she had wanted.

That said, they were able to follow him here, and she was tired of waiting. Tonight was the time she would make him pay for his insolence.

Thinking about it made her lick her lips. The thrill of a fight aroused her somewhat and she tried to control her urges. Now was not the time. Her hands tightened into fists as she and her Limiters continued to wait in the foliage nearby. Their eyes were trained at the doors of the Simulation Hall. Waiting.

-**xxxxxx**-

A loud electronic buzz echoed down the hall and the cell door unlocked with a loud clank. A security officer stood by as Satellizer walked out, escorting her to the lobby of the Detention Center.

She stayed silent throughout, having nothing to say, and the security officer was fine with that. The man was wary not to stray too close to her, aware of who she was and what she could do, though he put on a brave face. She applauded him for the effort.

Standing outside, she felt the cool night air on her skin and stretched. Her muscles had tightened a bit while she had been in there. Once she got her blood going a little, she started on her trek to the dorms.

Her thoughts continued to be preoccupied with Kazuya Aoi, younger brother of the great Kazuha Aoi, hero of the 8th Nova Clash. Someone that Satellizer looked up to, and someone who, in a way, she was intimately familiar with. She had received six of the original twenty stigmata that Kazuha had used, now called heroic-stigmata due to their history. She knew that a big part of why she got so many of the coveted stigmata was because of her family, though she barely considered them to be her family. She still held the Bridget name and was a prodigy Pandora, therefore they made sure she was adequately supported by the Pandora program.

Him being her little brother allowed her to make some sense of his astounding Freezing ability, which was even more unique in that he was able to do it without being paired with a Pandora. A fact that Satellizer was very much interested in. She was fully aware that she needed a Limiter to become even stronger, particularly when fighting against the Nova.

The only problem with finding a Limiter, however, was that there was no one she was comfortable with. She thought herself a lost cause in terms of being paired with a Limiter, and so she dedicated herself to becoming the best Pandora possible so that she could, hopefully, be able to fight on her own without the need for a Limiter. With the appearance of Kazuya though, she now saw another potential option, but one she was still reluctant to pursue.

Here was a Limiter who did not need to be Baptized and paired with in order to perform Freezing, which was what she desperately needed. Not only that, but he was able to touch her without triggering her aphephobia, or fear of being touched. This was very surprising, though she was not sure if that one instance he had grabbed her at the Arena was a fluke or not.

She blushed as she thought of that moment. He had been so close and had held her so tightly, and yet instead of the revulsion and violent anger that she normally felt when somebody touched her, she felt okay with it. In fact, it seemed to feel more than okay and she was not sure what to make of it. It was all very confusing.

As she walked through campus, she thought that perhaps it was time she talked with Kazuya and find out more about him, the one person who could touch her safely. She fancied sharing with him the reason why she hated being touched and the fact that he seemed to be an exception. Then she shook her head, thinking that it was a foolish notion. No one, especially Kazuya, would be interested in helping her, the Untouchable Queen.

-**xxxxxx**-

Chiffon looked to Eugene, who gave her a nod and a confident grin as the empty, whitewashed room disappeared and was suddenly replaced with a large, open field. The sun was low on the horizon, casting a reddish-orange hue on everything. The wind picked up and there was a sudden disturbance in the air followed by the sound of crackling energy.

Then, with a sudden flash four large, white constructs appeared.

"Four Novas have appeared, all of them Type-R!" cried Eugene. "They are in close, line formation."

Chiffon looked on as the four Nova turned, noticing them.

The Type-R Novas were older variants and had no mobility, being rooted to the spot. That said, they were still large, at over a hundred feet tall. Their main weapons are their Freezing field ability and that their arms can fire projectiles at a rapid rate.

"Ready?" Chiffon asked, eyeing the Nova who were beginning to raise their arms to aim and fire at them.

"When you are," replied Eugene, getting into a ready stance with his legs apart, one in front of the other.

"Engaging Ereinbar!" Chiffon cried and with a jolt their senses were instantly synchronized. She stifled a low moan from the sensations of the two of their minds melding and focused on the four Type-R's.

She extended her right arm and summoned her Volt Weapon. "Anti-Nova Trial Weapon!" A large clawed gauntlet materialized over her extended arm. A half second later and she was already on the move, closing the distance between her and the first Type-R with a blink of an eye. The Type-R's fired at her, but their shots missed as she tore through the first Type-R's core with ease.

It was still in the process of exploding when Chiffon began to attack the second one. It was then that the Type-R's finally activated their Freezing fields, which was instantly negated by Eugene who activated his own as soon as he saw that happen.

"You have six minutes!" he said, and since their senses were synchronized and melded she was able to hear him.

She smiled. More than enough time. Dodging the next barrage of projectiles, she clawed the second and third Type-R's easily, and then brought down the fourth a moment later. The explosion ruffled her dress and her hair a little. Still smiling, she turned and gave a nod to Eugene, who cancelled his Freezing.

"More incoming, Miss Chiffon!" Eugene said suddenly as the air nearby crackled with energy again.

More Type-R's. Seven of them.

"Let's get to work, Eugene," she said as she sped towards the closest Nova. Her Limiter obliged, casting his Freezing to negate the already deployed Freezing fields of the new Type-R's that had appeared.

Chiffon effortlessly moved through the air, dodging and weaving in between projectiles that managed to get close enough as she looked for strike lanes. Her movements were fluid, and she was actually not even moving as fast as she could, mostly because she did not need to. She was saving it for the harder part of the training to come.

It took her one minute and eleven seconds to destroy all seven Type-R's, though it helped that some of them had been so close to each other.

"Excellent job, Miss Chiffon!" commended Eugene.

Chiffon returned the compliment, "You too, Eugene. But you know it's not over just yet."

Sure enough, a Type-S materialized behind Eugene, who was surprised it had appeared so close to him. He scrambled to get out of the way.

"Eugene!" cried Chiffon, pushing it and getting to the Type-S before it could even notice her Limiter. The blue-haired Limiter deployed his Freezing field in time as she entered into the field of the Type-S, giving her mobility.

Dozens of whips from the Nova lashed out at her, which she was able to avoid as she sped around. This was a little tougher, but she was still much faster than these simulated Type-S dummies. In truth, these really did not pose a threat to her at her skill level, but it was still good practice and helped her to stay sharp.

The Type-S was a slightly bigger and more advanced version of Nova, meaning it was more deadly. Adding to that deadliness was the fact that they were actually mobile, though they moved relatively slowly.

Even more whips lashed out and she was forced to attack some of them, breaking them. She had yet to break a sweat, a testament to her level of fitness and skill, but still approached the situation seriously and tactically. She got through three waves of whips before she managed to strike at the chestplate protecting the core. She retreated for a moment, since being so close to the Nova made it harder to defend against its continued attacks.

The protective armor plating crumbled from the powerful swipe of her claw, exposing the core. Then, she used her special high-end skill: _Illusion Turn_. One moment she was there, the next she had plunged through the Type-S and exited out its back. She landed with a slight thud on the broken ground, her claw out and knees bent, as the Type-S proceeded to explode behind her.

She stood up, looking at her claw gauntlet before glancing over to Eugene and letting out a big smile. She withdrew from the Ereinbar Set.

"Is everything alright?" asked her Limiter as she approached, her gauntlet gone. The simulation ended, the field disappearing as the room around them returned to being the empty, whitewashed room they had originally entered.

"How do you mean?" she cocked her head to the side slightly at the question.

Eugene seemed unsure of himself for a second before saying, "Well, I noticed... it's just that you were a lot slower and deliberate this time around. Was it... was it because of him?"

Chiffon looked away to the Observation Deck. "I... wanted to show him what I could do," she said at first, "And this is his first time seeing in person a Pandora fighting against a Nova. I thought I'd show him how it's done, you know?"

Eugene seemed satisfied with that answer. "Yes. Yes, I see. Well, good job Miss Chiffon."

She glanced at him and gave him a small smile, "Thank you. You too, Eugene." Then she looked back to the Observation Deck.

* * *

**Author's notes: **For anyone wondering, the reason I don't write the -kun and -san and all the other honorifics is because I think it's tedious. I like to keep it simple with the names.


	9. The Unmatched Smiling Monster

**UnLimited**

_The Unmatched Smiling Monster_

* * *

Kazuya stood by the window in awe of what he had witnessed. _Chiffon is amazing. I can see now why she's considered one of the best, if not _the_ best Pandora alive.__  
_

Ticy looked over at him with a knowing smile. "Impressive, isn't she?"

He turned to face her. "Yes, though I feel like the word impressive doesn't do her justice. I've never seen anyone move so fast... that last move she did, it's almost as if she was, for the briefest moment, in two places at once."

"You mean her Illusion Turn ability? She invented that herself, you know." Ticy loved to boast about Chiffon, who was usually so very humble about her abilities. The Student Council President was also rather timid when she was not in a battle situation, which was pretty much most of the time.

"So is that what she calls it? Illusion Turn? Wow. And to have invented it herself..." he was starting to see Chiffon in a totally different light. Here was a shining example of what a Pandora should strive to be.

Chiffon and Eugene arrived then through the small lift and walked over to join them.

"Thank you, as usual, for manning the simulation controls, Tish," Chiffon said first, with Ticy responding with a "My pleasure." Chiffon then looked at Kazuya. "So what did you think?"

"That was unbelievable. Your speed and skill are phenomenal. Your strength and accuracy are spectacular. I would hate to be a Nova going against you," he replied honestly. "In short, I now understand why you're ranked first."

She blushed a little, both pleased and embarrassed by his words. "Well, these are only simulated dummy Nova. The real ones are a lot harder to take down than that, really." she was quick to say.

"Speaking of simulated, this simulation technology... it's amazing! How come this type of tech hasn't been released commercially. I know that some people would love to have some of their dreams and fantasies come true and this could make it all a reality, and I'm sure many would be willing to pay for such a chance," Kazuya looked at them all, curious to know.

"Well, Kazuya, this is extremely expensive technology you're talking about here. The only reason we were able to have and install this technology was because of the basically unlimited funding we have from world governments. Anything we need to advance the Pandora project, we simply ask for it," Chiffon informed him.

"Ah, I see." He wondered if he could somehow sneak in here and use one of the rooms to practice.

Kazuya then looked to Eugene, who had yet to say a word. He was looking at Kazuya with a strange expression that he could not read. "Hey Eugene. You were amazing out there too. You're a really talented Limiter!"

"Thanks. It helps to have someone as skilled as Chiffon as my partner," he responded, shrugging his shoulders a little and looking to the brunette.

"I was hoping you might be interested in teaching me a few tips on Freezing? You're so experienced with it and I'm only really beginning to understand my Freezing abilities. I would really appreciate any help you could give me," Kazuya said.

Chiffon liked the idea and chimed in, "That sounds like a great idea. How about we all have dinner together and you guys can talk about it then?"

Eugene looked at her for a second. "Alright, sure thing."

Chiffon gave a nod. "Right. Well you two go on ahead. I have a few things to talk about with Tish. We'll follow soon, okay?"

Kazuya and Eugene exited the Observation Deck and walked in silence through the corridors of the Simulation Hall. It was Kazuya who spoke first.

"So Eugene."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering... Have you faced a real Nova before?"

Eugene nodded slowly. "Once, last year."

"Last year? I didn't hear about any Nova incursions in the past year..." he trailed off, trying to recall any news of such an incident.

"That's because it appeared out in the middle of nowhere. And there was only one Nova, a Type-S. We were able to take it down before it reached any civilian areas," he explained.

"Ah... What was it like?"

"It was... a little scary... and nerve-wracking, to be honest," he said as they neared the front doors. "But as long as you have the will to fight, and with adrenaline in your veins, it makes it a little easier to stand there and do your part to fight against a true Nova. And when it was destroyed, it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. Let me tell you though, going up against the real thing... those Nova are tough."

Kazuya tried to imagine what it must have been like, and wondered how big of a difference there really was between the simulated Nova and the real ones. He remembered watching Chiffon as she fought, and while she made it look nearly effortless, he knew that the simulated Nova were tough.

They walked through the front doors, the cool night air greeting them as they made their way to the cafeteria. They unfortunately did not get very far.

Kazuya had this strange feeling that someone was watching them, and then suddenly his instincts kicked in and told him to drop to the ground. "GET DOWN!" he yelled as he fell into a very low crouch.

Several daggers flew directly over him, and had he not ducked he would have been impaled for sure.

Eugene was not so fortunate as he reacted too slowly and was actually confused at Kazuya's actions at first. Two daggers suddenly embedded themselves into him, one on his left quad and one on the left side of his torso. His eyes widened, looking down at his injuries, as he went into shock. There was already a lot of blood, and the daggers removed themselves of their own accord, with more blood gushing out. He fell to the ground, clutching at his wounds as he began to make pained grunting noises.

"Damnit!" Kazuya cursed as he glanced towards Eugene, but had no time to check on him or help him as the daggers came back and attacked him. His eyes narrowed instantly as he recognized the weapons flying through the air. He dove away, rolling on the ground as the daggers slammed into the spot where he was before. They cracked and broke the earth from the impact.

"Hang on, Eugene. Just hang on..." he said as he jumped away, the daggers missing by mere inches as they tore at his uniform.

"Miyabi! You'll pay for this!" he shouted with conviction. He was about to activate his Freezing at maximum possible power, which he had never done done before, in order to catch her since she might be further away but something slammed into him at such speed that he had hardly been able to see it. A mere flicker of motion in his peripherals was all he saw before he was hit.

"Agh!" he cried as he flew several feet, landing hard on his back and rolling over. He gathered his breath, getting on to his hands and knees when he felt hands roughly grab him and flung him into a tree. There was a cracking sound as part of the bark broke off, and the entire tree shook as some leaves and smaller branches fell to the ground from the impact. The hands grabbed him again and slammed him into the tree once more.

He gritted his teeth. He had had enough. When her hands grabbed him again, he quickly grabbed one of her wrists with his left hand and squeezed, using his enhanced strength. She let out a surprised cry, and that gave him enough time to know where the follow-up strike would go. In the next instant he had swung with his right arm and his fist slammed into her abdomen, the force of the blow sending her into the air and back.

"Miss Miyabi!" cried three voices in unison as her Limiters rushed out from their various hiding spots.

Miyabi was quick to get on her feet, wiping away a little blood that trickled from her mouth with the back of her hand. She waved them off, the look in her eyes still menacing, and they backed away. A small smile tugged at her lips.

"You're a lot more special than I thought, Kazuya Aoi." she said slowly, angrily.

Kazuya stood up, his fists clenched as he glared right back at her. "Why don't you let me show you just how special I really am?"

"Accel!" she cried and disappeared in a blur.

Kazuya reacted instantly, activating his Freezing.

Sure enough, Miyabi had sped to somewhere a few feet behind him, and her daggers were a foot away on either side of Kazuya, suspended in mid-air. He grinned, approaching her with his fists out. He was seriously contemplating calling forth Nova Vengeance, but he decided it was best to keep that a secret for as long as possible. Besides, he figured he could beat her without it.

"No, no, no." she said, "Not this time."

Kazuya was closing in when she suddenly began to glow, at which point he jumped back as he realized what she was doing. He had forgotten about this particular Pandora ability.

A second later and she had activated Pandora Mode, allowing her to move freely. She was surprised, however, at how strong the field was even in Pandora Mode. Her movements were not as quick as she had anticipated, but at least she and her weapons would be able to move around. It was time for her to teach Kazuya a lesson about messing with Miyabi Kannizuki.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Where's Abel at, Tish?" Chiffon asked after the two boys left. Ticy was usually with her Limiter, Abel, during this time because she would train after Chiffon was done.

"Oh, he said he wasn't feeling well so I told him to go get some rest. He's hopefully back in his dorm sleeping," she replied, a bit worried.

"Ah, I see. Well I hope he gets better then."

"Thank you. So what was the incident that delayed you earlier, Chiffon? Was it Kazuya?" now that they were alone, she felt comfortable calling her by her first name instead of 'Miss President' as she usually did in public.

Chiffon sighed. "No, it wasn't him. Ganessa Roland and Satellizer L. Bridget were fighting, trying to settle the score between them that was interrupted during the Carnival."

"Oh dear. Was it bad?"

The brunette nodded. "We were cutting through the middle of campus when we found them near the cafeteria. There was some property damage and they were injured, but thankfully no one else was hurt. The worst part was actually that they both activated Pandora Mode."

"Whoa, as sophomores? That's dangerous! Not to mention very difficult to do," Ticy said, shaking her head.

"Yes. Satellizer, I could understand... she's different. But Ganessa was a surprise. She is strong, but I did not think she was that strong, though I think her emotions on the matter had a lot to do with her activation," Chiffon said sadly. Pandora normally were able to activate Pandora Mode during their Third Year, though there were a few exceptions every now and again. Chiffon herself was able to activate Pandora Mode even earlier than the they did.

"Well, it looks like they'll have to be enrolled in the Pandora Mode Training class immediately," said Ticy, then she asked, "How did Kazuya Aoi end up joining you here, if I may ask?"

Chiffon intertwined her fingers together in front of her hips. "I happened to be walking and we saw each other. Then he asked if he could come along to observe, plus he said he wanted to see the Simulation Hall since he had never been before."

"Oh, I see. He's seems to be a nice boy, not to mention his amazing Freezing ability. I wonder who he'll pick as a partner..." Ticy trailed off, tucking her hands behind her. "Well, we shouldn't keep the boys waiting too long. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Actually, Tish, there is... something I wanted to discuss with you," Chiffon hesitated a moment. "I-" she began but then she suddenly gasped, and turned her head to look away as if she were looking through the walls. "Eugene..." she whispered weakly.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was again tempted to go all out on Miyabi, but he was barely a week into enrolling and he knew his father would not approve. So he stayed more on the defensive, dodging and evading the crazed Junior's attacks with a skill and speed that stunned Miyabi and the Limiters who were watching. All this while keeping his Freezing field active, which the Limiters were quick to note.

"Damn you! Just _die_ already!" Miyabi hissed as her daggers flew at him again, only to end up slicing through air as he dodged them easily.

He was about to finally attempt a counter-attack and go on the offensive when something flew by him so fast and so close that the wind displaced actually knocked him off his feet, cancelling his Freezing field as he lost focus completely. He landed on his back with a thud, hitting his head against the ground as well and rubbing where he had hit as he sat up.

"What the hell was that?" he said to himself as he checked to see what had occurred.

Chiffon Fairchild was standing, her Nova weapon activated, and was holding Miyabi up by her neck as her free hand clamped around it.

"Chiffon..." he whispered, surprised.

Miyabi was clearly choking and was grabbing at the hand around her neck, trying to free herself and failing at it. Even her Pandora Mode was not strong enough against Chiffon, particularly when she was angry.

Kazuya could see it in her body language. The way her whole body was rigid and tense. Her claw gauntlet was balled up into a fist. There was no smile on her face, where there always was one. And her eyes. They made Miyabi's eyes earlier look like they were affectionate. He shivered slightly as he saw her, completely different from before.

She slammed her gauntlet into the girl's torso, and Kazuya could hear the cracks from the bones breaking, while simultaneously releasing her neck. This sent her flying into the base of a building thirty feet away, leaving a small crater where she impacted as she slid down and fell to the ground. In a blink of an eye Chiffon was right next to Miyabi, taking a hold of her again, and then throwing her up into the air.

Kazuya watched with wide eyes, suddenly horrified and dumbfounded at the violence, as she proceeded to attack her while she was in mid-air. Chiffon was moving so fast and attacking her so many times consecutively that Miyabi seemingly was suspended in mid-air as she took the blows and slashes. Blood and clothing scattered everywhere. This was not like the battle she had seen before with Satellizer and Ganessa. This was brutal, mindless violence.

"Miss Miyabi!" cried the three Limiters, horrified as well. They fell to their knees after taking a few steps towards the two Pandoras.

Miyabi finally was allowed to fall to the ground, a broken, bloody heap. She was barely breathing.

Chiffon turned her attention to the three Limiters who looked on in horror. Then she attacked them too, mercilessly. She appeared next to each one, grabbing them by the collar, and punched them once with her gauntlet, which was enough to seriously hurt them with the force with which she was attacking.

When she was done with them, she turned back to Miyabi and slowly walked towards the defeated Pandora. Her wrists and ankles were no longer bound by glowing rings, indicating that Pandora Mode had worn off.

Kazuya realized then that she was not yet done. That she planned to go even further than she already had. He asked himself how she could commit such atrocious acts. Sure, he was all for avenging what she had done to Eugene, but not to this extent. Not to the point of killing a fellow Pandora. What had happened to the smiling, happy, and friendly Chiffon that he had come to know?

He needed to put a stop to this, before she did something that he knew she would ultimately regret.

"Chiffon! Chiffon! Stop this! Stop it now!" he began to yell as he ran towards her. "You've gone too far!"

She did not appear to hear him as she stepped closer to Miyabi's broken and battered body. She reached down to grab a handful of the girl's hair and pulled her up. There was blood everywhere. She raised her gauntlet, claw open and ready for the final blow.

"CHIFFON! NOO!" he yelled and concentrated hard, calling forth his Freezing.

The blue field of energy shot out and engulfed the two Pandoras.

Chiffon was still able to move, however, much to his surprise. Her claw started to come down, slower than normal.

"DON'T CHIFFON! DON'T DO IT!" he yelled again, intensifying the power he was putting into field to the point where she finally was immobilized. The claw was only inches away from Miyabi, but he had thankfully stopped her in time. He could feel her struggling mightily against the Freezing.

He walked slowly towards her, the effort he was putting into the Freezing field was more than he was used to. He was near or at maximum power output, and having never done it before he was not sure for how long he could hold it. He could already feel himself getting tired. He needed to get through to her and break her out of her wrathful and vengeful state.

"Chiffon, please. Listen to me!" he said pleadingly. "Please stop this. You've more than won already. You've paid her back for what she did to Eugene... but please... please stop this."

Suddenly, Chiffon began to glow.

That was a bad sign. Kazuya steeled himself as the brunette Pandora activated her Pandora Mode, blue rings circling her wrists and ankles as her hair turned white and her eyes began to glow. She raised her claw again.

"Agggghhhhh!" he yelled loudly as he pushed himself to the edge, pouring all his power out to his Freezing field to stop her. The field glowed brighter and he his own eyes began to glow blue. He knew that he needed to stop her at all costs.

She did not move after that. The temperature dropped considerably as frost began to appear everywhere.

He looked down at Miyabi, her limbs at odd angles and bone fragments jutting out on various parts of her body. There was a pool of blood that surrounded her, and her breathing was coming in wheezes. It was a wonder she was alive at all, in fact. He turned his gaze back to the unmoving Pandora standing before him.

He tried to speak to her again. "Please... This isn't like you... this fight is... is over now. You've made her pay... She's defenseless... Please... Let... her... go..." the last few words he had to say through gritted teeth as he strained to hold such a powerful field.

For a moment he thought he had failed to get through to her. Then he saw it, barely. The change in her eyes. Instead of blind rage, they were suddenly replaced with an awareness that was not there before. They softened. Her body relaxed, and he could no longer feel her struggling against his Freezing field.

It was at this point that he smiled and felt the warm liquid that had begun to come out of both his nostrils. He tasted the iron in his blood. He suddenly felt very weak and fell to his knees, the field still active. He was beginning to lose consciousness. The world around him started to spin. He could hear far off shouts, as if at a distance, while his vision began to fade to black. He was out before he hit the ground.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer stood completely still as she saw him collapse, and the powerful Freezing field disappeared almost instantly. She gasped, hand to her mouth, before she ran towards them. When she had stumbled upon them, Chiffon had activated her Pandora Mode. She was not sure what had happened, but she had never seen the Student Council President be violent outside of a Carnival. She had never thought Chiffon Fairchild willing to go so far against an opponent other than a Nova.

She figured that something must have happened to have pushed her off the edge, and she knew exactly how that felt. As she ran to Kazuya, she noted the fallen Pandora's near-death state, but she did not care much for her. She knelt next to Kazuya, grabbing him and rolling him over. Blood was coming out of his nose and both of his ears, as well as his mouth.

Satellizer looked up in time to see Chiffon fall to her knees then, looking down at Miyabi and then at her upturned hands with tears in her eyes. She was sobbing, her Nova weapon deactivated.

Satellizer could hear shouting as faculty members ran towards them.

She did not understand why she felt so bad. How her chest tightened upon seeing Kazuya unconscious like that. She was feeling completely and utterly confused.

Accompanying them to the clinic, she did not even notice how quickly they were moving or how the staff barely registered that she was there. Given that the Untouchable Queen was there and not being noticed, this was incredibly serious indeed.

As she sat, waiting, outside of the room that Kazuya was being held in she had time to think. She wondered what about Kazuya was making her feel all these emotions for him. She had not spoken a single word to him and they had barely interacted, and yet she felt this way. She wondered if this was what love at first sight meant, but then decided that love was too strong a word to use for this. No, she did not think this was love. At least, not yet.

She knew that he cared for him in a way that she had never felt before. A similar feeling would have been how she felt about her mother, but it was not a feeling of care as family. This was different, but what it was she did not know. All she knew was that the emotions inside of her had brought her here.

She wondered what had happened to set off the Student Council President like that. She did not know Chiffon Fairchild personally, but from what she remembered of her she was nice, friendly, and non-confrontational. She was also the best Pandora at West Genetics, but she was careful not to brag about it or to use her position for her own selfish desires.

Elize Schmitz had come in earlier, the tall doctor checking on Kazuya, and had left promptly after that. She had cast a quick glance at Satellizer but said nothing as she passed her both times. No doubt she left to attend to Miyabi, who she vaguely recalled was said to be "critically injured" and was brought immediately into the surgical ward. Hopefully her quick visit also meant that Kazuya was in a stable and safe condition.

She did not even know why she was waiting on him. She should never have even accompanied them here. Again, she reiterated to herself that she hardly knew him and that she should not get involved in such things. Besides, she had better things to do than sit around and wait for someone to wake up. Still, she sat there in the hallway in silence.

Footsteps off to her right finally caught her attention. Ticy Phenyl was walking towards her, her waist-length black hair swaying a little behind her with each step.

The Vice President of the Student Council, Ticy seemed surprised and confused to see her there. She stopped by the door, standing about three feet away from the sitting Satellizer.

"Umm, Miss Satellizer...?" she said tentatively. There was a sadness that permeated her voice.

The blonde Pandora pushed her glasses up. "Y-Yes?"

"Ah, well... Are you here to visit Kazuya?"

Satellizer hesitated, though it was obvious that she was waiting to do just that it was another thing to actual verbally confirm it. "W-Well... yes.."

"I see. So why are you still outside and not in the room visiting..?"

"Uhhh..." Satellizer scratched the side of her head, "You mean... we can visit now?"

Ticy nodded. "Of course. Unless it says on the door 'no visitors', you can really walk right in to visit at any time."

Satellizer let out a short, nervous laugh as she looked away. "Oh.. yes... of course..." She felt extremely embarrassed and chided herself for being such an idiot. She had been sitting out there for who knew how long when she could have been inside already checking on Kazuya.

The Student Council Vice President reached for the handle and opened the door. "Are you coming?"

"I... I'll wait until you're done. If you don't mind."

Ticy nodded and went in, closing the door gently behind her.

How long she stayed in there, Satellizer did not know, but she eventually stepped out again. The blonde Pandora spoke up when she realized Ticy was leaving, already several steps down the hall.

"Excuse me!"

Ticy paused and half-turned back towards her.

"Umm.. H-How is he?"

Ticy smiled, though it did not quite reach her eyes, and tilted her head to the side. "Why don't you go see for yourself?" She then continued to walk away, hands tucked behind her back.

-**xxxxxx**-

"I honestly don't even know what to say to you, Miss Fairchild," Yumi Kim said as she sat down, drinking from a steaming cup of coffee.

They were in one of the holding rooms in the Detention Center where the delinquents waited before they were placed into cells.

Chiffon had not said a word since the faculty arrived at the scene and she was whisked away. Not only that, but she had yet to raise her head or look anyone in the eye. She had her head down and was staring at the top of the table. Her cheeks were still wet from the tears, and her uniform was still bloodied from the beating she put on Miyabi.

Yumi looked at her and wondered how she might be feeling. The tears and her demeanor indicated that she was sorrowful and regretful at least. The instructor took a sip of her coffee, eyeing the silent brunette closely.

"I want you to know that Dr. Schmitz managed to save Miyabi's life," she informed the girl. _T__hough only barely_, she did not add. Yumi was told that Miyabi may never fully recover, in which case she would be removed from the program. She figured that Chiffon did not need to know that just yet.

"Also, the Limiters are doing okay and will make full recoveries," she added, noting that Chiffon still had not moved a muscle.

There was a long silence, punctuated only by Yumi taking sips every now and again from her cup.

"Well, if you have nothing to say..." Yumi stood up, the chair making a slight grinding noise as she pushed it back.

Chiffon finally mumbled something.

Yumi leaned forward slightly. "What was that?"

"Eu... Eugene?" she managed to croak weakly, unable to meet the instructor's gaze.

Yumi did not want to tell her, but since she had asked she felt she had to say something. She did not tell her everything though, mostly because the last time she checked, Eugene was still in surgery. She simply said, "He's stable." At least she assumed him to be.

Chiffon nodded numbly at the news.

She left the room and told the guards to escort Chiffon to one of the solitary confinement cells. These cells were different from the regular ones used in that they were smaller, sound-proof, and they were often used for serious offenders. Never in her life would she have thought that she would send Chiffon Fairchild, the number one ranked Junior and the Student Council President, into one of these cells.

Moving quickly, and still holding her cup of coffee, she made her way over to the clinic to check with Elize about the recent patients.

The tall German doctor was in her office, looking over the patient reports when she arrived. The normally laid back and happy doctor was subdued, indicating how troubled she was of the events that had occurred. She barely even registered Yumi's arrival, giving her a half-hearted wave without even looking at her as she continued to scan the reports.

"How are they, Elize?"

She looked up at Yumi, putting the reports on her desk and leaning back in her chair as she rubbed her temples with her hands. She let out a long breath before she replied. "Kazuya woke briefly earlier for a few seconds before passing out again. He'll be fine, though I am surprised he actually managed to push himself over his limit so quickly. It usually takes some time to be able to focus your power enough to get to that level."

Yumi, a little shameful of it, was actually a little upset that she missed seeing his full-powered Freezing ability by a few seconds.

"As for Eugene... another minute later and he might have died... He is currently stable, but he lost a lot of blood and the wounds were big and pretty deep. While Limiters also have better healing than normal humans, their regeneration is nowhere near the level of the Pandoras," she continued, still rubbing her temples. "He hasn't regained consciousness, but I believe he should make a full recovery. How long that will take is anyone's guess right now, but I should know better in the coming days."_  
_

There was a pause.

"And Miyabi?" asked Yumi, torn between wanting to know and not wanting to know. She knew it was bad.

"I'll need to check on her regularly, but it looks like she'll survive. It will take a long while, but she should recover enough to at the very least walk and talk. Whether she can continue to be a Pandora is another issue..." she said as she reached for a clipboard and handed it to Yumi. "I'd prefer it if you looked at the report... instead of me detailing it all to you."

Yumi took the clipboard and looked it over, inwardly cringing at the injuries listed.

Every bone in her body had been broken, many of them in multiple places. Some were even completely shattered. Major ligament and muscle damage. Organ damage. Nerve damage. Severe blood loss. Anyone else in the world who received such injuries should be dead. Lucky for her she was a Pandora, and a strong one at that. She was on the edge when she was taken to emergency surgery, but the experience of the doctors and of course Elize as well as the technology and medicine made available to them helped to save her life.

Elize cleared her throat, adding, "When she does regain consciousness... I'm not sure how her mental state will be. As Pandora we are capable of handling an excessive amount of pain. But with what she's gone through tonight..."

Both women simply looked at each other.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya groaned. His body felt achy, but the kind of ache that came from not having moved around much. His mind also felt sluggish, as if he had been sleeping for too long. The bed felt different. This was not his bed. Then the memories of what happened earlier came back to him.

"NO!" he yelled, bolting upright as his eyes fluttered open and he took in some quick breaths.

"Eek!" cried a feminine voice to his left.

He was not expecting to hear that. Turning to his left, he silently regarded the other occupant of the room - mostly because he was stunned to see her there.

Satellizer L. Bridget was sitting in a chair next to his bed, and she looked startled to see him awake. She adjusted the glasses that had skewed on her face from when she had jumped a little in her chair from his sudden yell and movement. Her expression turned into embarrassment as she realized he was wondering why she was there based on the way he was looking at her.

"Sa... tellizer?" he managed to say. Confused would have been an understatement when describing his thoughts at the moment. What was Satellizer doing here?

"H-Hello." she said timidly, her cheeks reddening. She sat rigidly, her hands together on her lap, fingers intertwined.

He found himself thinking that she looked quite cute, especially being all flustered like this. Hard to imagine she was nicknamed the Untouchable Queen for her ruthlessness and skill as a Pandora. He was wondering what in the world she was doing there, of all places. They hardly knew each other. Not that he did not want to meet her or get to know her, but it was simply strange to see her here visiting him at the infirmary when they were practically strangers.

"How are you f-feeling?" she asked suddenly, not looking him in the eye as she seemed to suddenly find her hands on her lap very interesting.

"A little sore, actually... but not bad, thanks for asking." He then worriedly thought about the others who were there last night. "How are the others? Are they okay?"

Satellizer shook her head slightly. "I... I don't know."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, neither sure of what to say to the other.

"What happened last night?" she asked softly.

Kazuya scratched his head as he tried to remember, some of the drugs the doctors had given him finally wearing off, "Well, basically Miyabi Kannazuki tried to attack me and she accidentally hit Eugene, who is Chiffon's Limiter. That of course set her off and she beat Miyabi to within an inch of her life..." The last time he saw Miyabi, she had barely been breathing and, even after all she had done, he truly hoped she was okay.

She spoke again, changing the topic. "Why did you stand up for me... against Ganessa?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

She looked at him, and then looked away. "Would I be asking if... if it was?" She had a point.

"I did it because it was the right thing to do. And because I could not stand to see you continue to get hurt, especially when you could not fight back any longer..." he said.

"Well I didn't ask for your help you know," she said stubbornly, surprising Kazuya. As if realizing that she was being rude, she suddenly stood up, her cheeks flushed once again. "I'll go now." She moved towards the door when Kazuya interrupted her.

"Wait!"

She did not look back at him, her gaze on the floor, but she stopped to listen to what he had to say.

"I'm sorry. About the Carnival. I really am. I just... lost control..."

"It's okay." She gave him one last glance, then she left.

Kazuya took a deep breath. That turned out to be strangely pleasant. He wondered what this meant exactly about their relationship. Was there a relationship? Were they friends? Acquaintances? He debated whether this now meant he could go up to her and talk to her the next time he saw her, and decided that maybe he would try that.

He was still thinking about Satellizer's seemingly random visit when the door opened and Arthur and Kaho walked in with worried expressions. Arthur's worried expression turned to delight as he saw that his friend was awake.

"Kazuya! We just heard about what happened. Thank goodness you're alright buddy. Are you okay?" asked Arthur.

"I'm fine, Arthur. Thanks. It's the others I'm worried about."

His thoughts returned to the others who were no doubt recovering in the clinic too. Miyabi. The Limiters. Chiffon.

Kaho still looked worried and had yet to say a word. Arthur nudged her and she finally said something.

"Why do you always get into trouble like this, Kazuya? You haven't even been enrolled for a full week yet and already this is your second trip to the clinic.."

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Ahh.. I don't know..."

Arthur nudged her again.

"What?" she said, irritated, as she looked at Arthur, "I'm only being honest." She looked back at Kazuya. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if a Nova warped right on top of you."

Kazuya continued to rub the back of his head, "Nice to see you too, Kaho." He then turned serious. "Do you happen to know how the others are doing?"

Arthur and Kaho both shook their heads.

"We came straight here after we heard that you were hurt again," explained Arthur.

"Speaking of others," said Kaho, "We saw Satellizer leaving the clinic as we walked in... was she involved in this somehow?" Her eyes narrowed.

Kazuya shook his head. "No, she wasn't. She came here to check up on me."

"She _what_?" his two friends said in unison.

He raised his hands and shrugged. "Hey, I don't know why either... so don't give me that look."

"That's strange, man," said Arthur.

"Very strange..." agreed Kaho. "I don't like it. Not one bit."

Arthur seemed to nod approvingly. "Anyway, what exactly happened last night?"

"I thought you heard about it?" Kazuya said as he leaned back down onto the bed, his back extra sore from last night and the strain of sitting upright.

"We heard there was a serious incident and some students were hurt, one of whom was you. That's all we know," replied Kaho.

Kazuya sighed and proceeded to explain to them what happened, expounding on certain details when they asked. By the end of his retelling, they both looked equally somber and astonished. They stayed quiet for a time, and Kazuya used this moment to think.

As much as he disliked Miyabi, he did not wish for her to die like that. Not when she could not fight back and was clearly, utterly defeated.

Rudolphe had taught him to respect his enemies, especially when they were down. Had she still been fighting and happened to die as a result of fighting, then perhaps that was acceptable. It would depend on the circumstances. But what he saw last night... it was not a fight. It was a beat down. It was torture. It was a giant squashing a bug with its heel, and then grinding its heel into the ground for good measure. To have inflicted so much pain and suffering on a defenseless and defeated opponent was dishonorable.

Not to say that what Miyabi did with her sneak attack was not deplorable on its own, of course.

He knew that Chiffon was blinded by her rage, that her emotions got the best of her. He knew that Chiffon and Eugene were paired, and thus had a close relationship. Given that information, the way she acted is somewhat understandable. He imagined that had Kazuha been alive and had it been Kazuha who was injured like that in a despicable sneak attack, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have exploded the way Chiffon did - only if that happened Miyabi would have surely died since no one would have been able to stop him short of killing him.

That was why he could not blame her. Because he could see himself doing exactly as she did in her situation. That was why he needed to help her. From what little he knew of Chiffon, that was not something she would normally do. She was happy and always smiling. She was friendly and understanding. She was not a monster.

As if she were reading his mind, Kaho commented to Arthur that Chiffon's nickname was the 'Unmatched Smiling Monster.'

Regardless of what people called her, he knew that Chiffon was not a monster. He refused to believe otherwise.

"Wasn't Miyabi Kannizuki ranked 15th in the Junior class?" Arthur asked Kaho, who confirmed that piece of information. "So that's the difference between number one and number fifteen."

"Elizabeth Mably, ranked second in the Junior class, wouldn't stand a chance against Chiffon at full strength, let alone the fifteenth ranked Miyabi," added Kaho. "After all, this is Chiffon Fairchild we're talking about here. She took out fifty of her fellow classmates in a row during her first Carnival. Without any breaks and all the while barely breaking a sweat. She's like the Untouchable Queen, only even better."

"What will happen to her? To Chiffon I mean," Kazuya asked them, suddenly worried for the Student Council President.

Arthur and Kaho shared a look.

"Well, it's hard to say..." said Arthur, uncertain.

"Part of what her fate will be depends on what happens to those she injured. The other part simply depends on the judgement of Sister Margaret, and even then the Chevalier might step in if it's particularly serious, and this might count as that," Kaho told him.

"At best she might stay in the Detention Center for a while and lose her position as Student Council President, at worst she'll be stripped of Pandora status, her stigmata removed, and she will he kicked out of the program," continued their class representative, crossing her arms. "One thing is for sure: she _will_ be punished for this."

Kazuya sincerely hoped things turned out for the best.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Bet you didn't expect any of that. Oh, and if you're wondering... the Nova are coming soon enough.

I'm using the Manga as a sort of guide now, but there are a bunch of new and different things I have planned ahead... I hope you're still enjoying the journey. :) ALSO, for anyone wondering - the fight between Kazuya and Miyabi only lasted about three minutes from the opening salvo of daggers to the time Chiffon comes in, hence why he isn't too tired and why Eugene did not die even though he was grievously hurt.


	10. Worrying

**UnLimited**

_Worrying_

* * *

"What happens now, ma'am?" asked the Student Council Vice President who was standing in the middle of Sister Margaret's office. She had gone to the office on her own volition, worried about what might happen to her best friend, and practically sister, who was currently in an isolation cell in the Detention Center. She had tried to visit her there earlier but since Chiffon was in isolation they wouldn't allow any visitors, not even the Vice President of the Student Council.

The old woman was facing away from her, her seat swiveled towards the windows behind her desk so she could look out onto the campus. She was silent for a time, deep in thought, and the young girl wondered if her question had been heard at all.

The Academy headmistress was having trouble making a decision, and it was an admittedly difficult one. Chiffon's actions demanded severe punishment, no matter the situation that caused those actions. Perhaps if the first-ranked third-year had simply pacified Miyabi Kannazuki instead of beating her to an almost literal bloody pulp, she would have been able to arrange for a customary punishment of solitary confinement for several days and a thorough warning to restrain herself from such behavior if, heaven forbid, something like that were to happen again. But this was far too grave an act for such a light penalty. Chiffon had lost control and gone too far, and while she could understand why the girl did what she did, that did not mean she agreed with it.

Dealing with Miyabi was simple enough. While the pain of her beat-down and near-death experience surely was more than enough, she would of course be removed from the program for instigating the whole thing as well as seriously wounding a fellow student in Chiffon's Limiter. The fact that her record has shown past violent and unsavory tendencies more than sealed her fate in that regard.

But what to do with Chiffon? That was the big dilemma. Sister Margaret prided herself in being fair in her dealings, particularly when it came to punishments, but in this case her judgement was clouded by the fact that not only was Chiffon the first-ranked third year and Student Council President, the young woman was also someone she was fond of. Very few people commanded her respect, fewer still her love, and Chiffon was one of the latter lucky enough to have garnered that love. Plus the fact that Chiffon was simply reacting to the violence and aggression that Miyabi Kanizuki had displayed, though again the reaction went too far.

Nearly killing a fellow Pandora and several Limiters with an excessive use of force was a serious offense though, and the rules were clear on the matter: the perpetrator was to be removed from the Pandora program and expelled from the Academy. Her unique position as the leader of said Academy, however, allowed her to bend and potentially even ignore the rules if need be - and in this case she felt that she needed to.

But how best to do it? A severe enough punishment still needed to be meted out in order to show that such actions are still not condoned, but she would not go so far as the rules demanded. Against the Nova, the world needed every capable Pandora available, and Chiffon was by far one of the most capable in the entire world. She was worth keeping in the program for as long as possible.

After a while she realized that she needed more time to think on the matter since she was nowhere near to figuring out a proper solution just yet. Bringing her attention back to the young dark-haired woman standing in front of her desk, she swiveled her chair back around and, noticing how Ticy was nervously shifting her weight from one leg to the other, finally spoke.

"Miss Phenyl," she paused to collect her thoughts, "I have not yet come to a decision on what to do with Miss Fairchild for her actions. However, since she is currently indisposed, for the time being you shall be acting Student Council President and will be responsible for the duties of that office until further notice. Is that understood?"

Ticy exhaled slowly, somewhat relieved to see that Sister Margaret was taking longer than usual to decide, which meant she was trying to help Chiffon as much as possible without shirking her responsibility to punish her for her actions. At least she hoped that was the reason for her delayed decision. She nodded, her green-gray eyes looking sadly at Sister Margaret for the fact that she had to make such a tough decision. She knew that the two of them had a closer relationship than most. "I understand, Sister."

"Good. I will call on you when I need you, Miss Phenyl. Now you are dismissed," Sister Margaret said and watched the young woman bow her head respectfully and leave the office, the door shutting quietly behind her and leaving the Academy's headmistress to her thoughts.

-**xxxxxx**-

Kazuya was released from the clinic the day after the incident at around noon with a clean bill of health and as the second week of his stay at West Genetics Academy began, he could not help but wonder what kind of experiences his sister had had while she was a student here. The very thought of her sister getting into the sorts of trouble he had been through so far was ridiculous to him. The sister he remembered wouldn't have gotten into trouble here, would she? He filed away a thought to perhaps ask Dr. Elize about it the next time he saw her since she and his sister were classmates and friends before.

So far he had been able to keep his more outrageous abilities a secret, though he wasn't sure for how long he would be able to keep up being simply an overpowered Limiter. In just the last week he had been tempted to use his offensive powers. While his father might disapprove that he had even shown the extent of his freezing abilities so soon - in the first week no less! - given the circumstances Kazuya was sure that his old man would understand. The one major mistake was losing control of his emotions at the Sophomore Carnival. That had been an unnecessary use of his powers, but it wasn't entirely his fault since the resemblance between Satellizer and his sister when looked at from afar and from behind was great enough to evoke his strong emotions for his lost sister.

His stomach growled and there was a pain in his abdomen from the lack of food, causing him to grimace. Thankfully since it was lunchtime the cafeteria was open so he decided to pass by and grab something to eat on the way back to his dorm.

It took him a little while since the line was rather long, but he managed to get a plateful of chicken, steaming white rice, and green beans along with some miso soup. Taking a seat an empty table, he devoured his food like the starving teenage boy that he was, uncaring that some people gave him odd looks for his rudeness - although he noted that at least a handful of people were impressed and amused at the speed at which he ate. As he was sipping the tea that he had gotten along with his meal, which was all digesting in his stomach already, he was interrupted by a petite silvery-haired girl with brown eyes who walked up to his table and sat down across from him as if it was a normal occurrence for her.

"Good afternoon!" she greeted him with a big smile, and right off the bat he found her to be cute. Then again, most of the females in the Academy were actually cute and quite attractive, a fact that did not escape him.

"Uh, hello?" he said tentatively, unsure of what exactly this girl was doing sitting with him. He didn't know her and had never even seen her before, though judging from the way she held herself she was likely an upperclassman.

"You're Kazuya Aoi right?" she asked, still smiling. The girl definitely seemed friendly enough.

"That's me," he admitted. Where was this going? "And you are?"

"The name's Attia Simmons. Fourth-ranked third-year Pandora from the great country of Italy. I'm sure you've heard of me," she flipped one of her ponytails with a flick of her hand as she introduced herself, letting out a light giggle.

"Ah, well it's nice to meet you Miss Simmons but, no offense, I actually uh... haven't heard of you... heh..." he scratched the back of his head as he gave her an apologetic grin.

She raised an eyebrow at him and seemed mildly embarrassed and a little offended for a second before the smile returned to her face. "Well, of course that's perfectly understandable. You've only just arrived here at West Genetics after all plus we're in different years. And I rarely make it out to the cafeteria."

"Yeah, I've really only been here a week..."

There was an uncomfortable silence that fell between them, or at least uncomfortable for Kazuya. From what he could see, the girl in front of him seemed not to mind it at all.

"So! Miss Simmons, is there... uh... something you wanted to talk about? I mean, from my experience, not too many people just go up and introduce themselves to strangers around here..." He had a feeling she wanted something from him. But what?

The petite girl leaned forward, elbows resting on the table and her eyes staring right into Kazuya's. "Attia, Kazuya. Just call me Attia. Anyway, you're not really a stranger to be honest. I've heard oh _so _very much about you and I was hoping we might become friends."

"Ah, I see..." he said, smiling awkwardly. He thought about it for a moment. "Well, I don't see why not?" Being friends with another highly ranked third year Pandora seemed like a good idea, especially since his other third-year friend happened to be on the verge of getting expelled from the program. Though he hoped and prayed that she would not of course.

"Perfect!" Attia exclaimed happily, leaning back and twirling a pigtail in one hand, a smug smile on her face.

"Though if I may ask what it is you've heard about me..." He was curious to know what exactly people have been gossiping about him, other than the fact that he was a powerful Limiter. He knew that pretty much everyone knew that by now.

"Oh, this and that," she said vaguely as she looked about. Then her eyes fastened onto him with sudden intensity, "Tell me, have you decided on who you're going to pair up with yet? Every freshman Limiter needs a Pandora, you know."

The question took him by surprise and he fumbled for an answer. While he was interested in pairing with a Pandora to maximize his powers and Nova fighting abilities, he hadn't yet decided whether or not getting paired up was even necessary at this point since he was a Pandora-Limiter hybrid of some sort and didn't actually need a pairing. But before he could utter a word in response there was a sudden commotion by the entrance of the cafeteria, and both of them turned to see what was going on.

Satellizer L. Bridget had walked in just then and as per usual everyone moved out of her way and kept their distance. She made her way to the Burger Queen counter where the line disappeared instantly and she walked right up to the cashier to order her food.

"She's quite something, isn't she?" Attia said with amusement as they watched her cradle the multitude of burgers she had ordered with her left arm. While he observed Satellizer, he vaguely heard the pigtailed girl give a tut-tut and in the corner of his eye see her shake her head.

At that moment, Satellizer's eyes swept the room while on her way out and she stopped in her tracks as her gaze rested on Kazuya. Even from this distance he could tell that she was surprised to see him and what was more surprising was that she started to walk over, and in his peripheral vision he could see that Attia had stiffened in her seat.

"Kazuya," Satellizer stated simply as she stopped right by his table, ignoring Attia completely. Her half dozen burgers were securely tucked in between her abdomen and her left arm. There were a lot of eyes watching them and more than a few whispers going around, but she didn't seem to pay them any attention. Not that he minded them either.

"Hey Miss Satellizer," he responded, again unsure of what to say or make of this situation.

"I... would like a word with you," she finally said after a brief hesitant breath, causing more whispers to go around. The gossip would probably be all over the school within the hour. "Please come with me."

Attia cleared her throat then, more than a little angry at the interruption and even more at being so clearly ignored. "Um, helloo? Excuse me? Don't you see that I'm talking to Kazuya at the moment? Why don't you talk to him another time,_ Sophomore_?"

Satellizer spared her a glance, her face unreadable, before turning and walking away without another word.

"How rude that girl! Honestly, she's... Kazuya? Kazuya! Where are you going?!"

He had stood up then, grabbing his tray and half-finished tea. "I'm sorry, Miss Attia but I need to go talk to Satellizer. Nice meeting you!" In the back of his mind he felt bad for suddenly leaving his new friend there, but it seemed like Satellizer had something very important to say and something told him that he shouldn't pass up this opportunity to talk to her.

"But-!" she had a stunned look on her face while watching Kazuya chase after the retreating Satellizer after putting his tray away.

-**xxxxxx**-

The breeze was pretty strong up on the roof of the cafeteria where Satellizer had taken him, and he savored breathing in the refreshingly cool air. She was sitting in the shade by the roof access door and was munching on her burgers while Kazuya stood there awkwardly, watching and waiting with his hands in his pockets.

"Excuse me," he finally spoke up, feeling a little impatient, "But why did you bring me up here?"

She was on her last burger already, and he had to admit she had gobbled them up impressively quickly. He imagined she might even eat faster than him, not that he was going to race her at it to see who was faster or anything. Either she didn't hear him or didn't want to respond as she continued to eat until she had finished it completely, going so far as to lick her fingers clean. Once done, she wiped her hands with some napkins that she had brought along and finally stood up, turning to him with a strange look on her face. It occurred to him then that she hadn't gotten anything to drink and he wondered if she was at all thirsty.

"Kazuya..." she wavered slightly in whatever it was that she wanted to say. Then without warning she stepped close to him and before he could even react, to his astonishment, she grabbed his left hand with a gentle but firm grip, her surprisingly soft skin making his own tingle at the contact.

"What are you.." he started to say. Since they were so close he noticed that she was blushing, and he could also feel his the temperature in his own cheeks begin to rise at the contact. Then she brought his hand up to her cheek, placing it there and closing her eyes as she rubbed her cheek with his hand. "...doing?" His voice caught in his throat and his eyes widened. Her cheek was as soft as her hands and felt warm to the touch, and he couldn't help but think that this felt nice. Strange definitely, but nice.

"Just as I thought..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It wasn't a fluke... You're different. You're... okay." Then her eyes snapped open and her cheeks reddened even further before she dropped his hand and then ran back into the building, leaving him dumbfounded on the roof of the cafeteria staring at the hand that she had held just moments ago.

-**xxxxxx**-

"Well, I'm glad we get to take a break from everything that's happening on campus," said a smiling Kaho to her companions sitting on either side of her, chasing away the silence that had settled among them when they piled into the train earlier.

Arthur, sitting to her left, turned to face her and flashed a toothy grin, "I'm excited to go visit the city! I haven't been yet since we got here."

"That's because we've only just gotten here, Arthur! This is the first opportunity we've had to go into the city at all," replied Kaho matter-of-factly. It was true. While they had been there longer, since Kazuya had arrived a month and a half late into the semester, the two of them hadn't had the chance to go into the city yet what with all the work they had to do with their first year classes plus all their extracurricular activities, most of which recently involved Kazuya getting into trouble.

Arthur laughed sheepishly. "Oh. Right."

"Where's Ganessa? I thought you would've asked her to come along," Kaho commented with a questioning glance at the blonde Limiter.

"Ah, she said she wasn't feeling well..." answered Arthur, frowning.

Kaho looked at him with surprise. "Really? I'm shocked you're here with us and not at her bedside!"

Arthur grimaced at that. "Actually, she insisted I went along with you and would have none of it when I told her I wanted to stay to make sure she got better quickly."

The elevated train rumbled along, beginning to cross a massive steel rail bridge that spanned the wide river separating the West Genetics Academy from the bustling city. It was a beautiful day with the clean blue waters of the river sparkling in the sunlight, a few thin clouds floating across the sky, and the agreeably warm temperature.

Only a handful of students were in their compartment since it was the middle of the week, and they were quiet throughout the ride, the only noise coming from the chatty trio. Or more accurately the chatty duo, since Kazuya had been quiet all day.

"So what do you want to do today, guys?" Kaho asked them, though her gaze settled mostly on Kazuya.

Arthur looked thoughtful. "How about we explore the city and just see where the day takes us?" A grumble from his stomach at that moment made him pat it with his hand and chuckle. "Although... I'm getting kinda hungry so maybe we can grab some food first before we do our exploring."

"Kazuya? Are you okay? You're awfully quiet," remarked Kaho, looking to him with concern, Arthur leaning forward to eye him with worry as well from the other side of Kaho.

"Huh?" Kazuya said, not having paid any attention to what his friends were saying. He had been too preoccupied with worrying over what was going to happen with Chiffon, not to mention mulling over the recent actions of one Satellizer L. Bridget.

It had been several days since he had been released from the clinic and since that rooftop incident, and he hadn't seen any signs of Satellizer at all. Not that he was actively looking for her, but he had always at least glimpsed her every now and again. When he told Arthur and Kaho about it they had been most alarmed and confused about the incident. For them, her actions were extremely odd and off-putting, and Kazuya had to admit it was a little strange. As usual, they warned him to try harder to stay away from her, though he still didn't understand why they felt so strongly about not interacting with Satellizer when so far she hasn't seemed like the bad influence or troublemaker that they made her out to be. If anything, he'd been in more trouble than Satellizer thus far.

Thinking about that made him remember Attia Simmons, that upperclassman Pandora who strangely enough introduced herself to him out of the blue. He forgot to try and find her and apologize for running off like that, and he also forgot to mention the event to his friends. Perhaps they knew more about who this girl was and how to find her, so he made a note to talk to them about it later.

And to top it all off, so far there had been no word on what was to happen to Chiffon. The only news to come from the Academy administration was that Ticy Phenyl, Vice President of the Student Council, was now the temporary President until the matter with Chiffon was fully resolved. That of course had made Kazuya even more worried that the worst might happen.

He hadn't even wanted to come with them into the city, but they had pestered him relentlessly and he finally relented since they apparently weren't going to give up asking him to go with them anytime soon. It helped that he figured he wouldn't be able to study and train properly anyway what with everything that was on his mind. Plus he recalled that his father had told him to enjoy his time at the Academy while he could, though so far there were more harrowing and trying moments than enjoyable ones. Maybe this little break from the Academy life would be helpful.

"Daydreaming huh, Kazuya? Are you thinking about Sat- owwww!" teased Arthur, receiving a sharp elbow to the ribs from Kaho before he could finish, the young girl giving him a glare before turning her attention back to her brooding friend.

Kaho reached up and patted Kazuya on the shoulder, smiling as if Arthur had never even spoken. "What's on your mind, Kazuya? We're here for you, you know."

His brown eyes closed briefly and he put on a smile, looking at them apologetically. "Sorry. I've just been thinking about what's going to happen..."

"To the Student Council President? or actually, former Student Council President," Kaho guessed, finishing his line of thought.

"Yeah." He nodded, breathing deeply. "I'm worried that they might kick her out of the program because of what she did, even though it wasn't really her fault... If I... If Miyabi hadn't-"

"Listen to me, Kazuya," Kaho interrupted him, gripping his closest shoulder and pulling on it to make him turn to her. Her eyes were sharp and critical as she held his gaze unflinchingly, her seriousness surprising him. "I very much doubt they're going to kick out one of the greatest Pandoras in the world today, so you shouldn't worry about that. And as for the whole worrying thing anyway, can you _please _do me a big favor and _stop worrying today_. Just for one day this week. That's all I'm asking. You've been through a lot in just your first week and you of all people deserve some time to relax and get away from it all. That _is _why we're going to the city today, isn't it?" She growled as she inconspicuously bumped Arthur, "_Isn't it?_"_  
_

Arthur finally got the hint and piped up, nodding furiously from behind her, "Yes! Of course! That's exactly why we're going into the city. Taking our mind off of everything, you know, trying to relax, have some fun, and- OW! Now what was that for?!" Kaho had elbowed him again in the ribs, harder than the first time.

Kazuya leaned back, resting his head on the window behind their seats, and shrugged. "I guess. It's just that there hasn't been any word as to what will happen to her so I'm really worried now. But... I suppose you're right. I'll try my best to stop worrying today, but just so you know I don't really take too many breaks like this... so I have no idea what to do. Relaxing isn't really something I'm very used to."

What few breaks he took in between training and studying before he even went to the Academy was spent either watching action flicks or TV shows as well as documentaries on the Chevalier. Never had he gone out to towns or cities for recreation, at least not since his sister died. One of the very few things he didn't take to heart from Rudolphe was this idea of relaxing and taking breaks, which supposedly was a good thing and part of training. In Kazuya's mind, there was precious little time to spare for such things. Actual training was far more important since the Nova could appear at any time, and he had a very big score to settle with them.

He sighed inwardly thinking about all that. In just one week things had changed so rapidly for him. Before his enrollment in the Academy, he most likely would not have agreed to going into the city like this to, as they said, 'relax and have some fun'. He had no friends save for Rudolphe, Onya, and his tutors, if they could even be called his friends. In fact, now that he thought about it, he still barely knew Arthur and Kaho, even though they were basically all friends now. Why were they trying so hard to be his friends anyway?

Kaho studied him for a minute and then let go of his shoulder, nodding approvingly. "As long as you're trying, then that's good enough for me."

The train began to slow to a stop as an automated voice told them that they were arriving at the Shintoshi City station. The compartment jarred slightly as the brakes took effect, and then the doors slid open with a hiss, prompting everyone to get up and start moving towards them.

"Okay, first can we _please _get some food? I'm really really hungry," groaned Arthur as they made their way out of the train and onto the platform.

-**xxxxxx**-

Satellizer was on her way back to her room after another long day of classes, still thinking and feeling foolish about what happened on that cafeteria rooftop and worrying what Kazuya thought of it, when she caught sight of the trio ahead clearly blocking her path. She stopped, her eyes narrowing slightly as she regarded the three girls who she knew to be upperclassmen. Recognizing one of them clearly, she had a good idea as to why they were there.

"Well hello again, Satellizer L. Bridget," said the girl in the middle, hands at her hips and a smirk twisting her lips, brown eyes staring intently at Satellizer. Her silvery-white hair was tied up into two curly ponytails that fell to either side of her head. "Or should I call you The Untouchable Queen?"

* * *

**Author's notes: **I think it's been a long enough while since I've updated this story. Rest assured that I have not forgotten about this and that I will be focusing on this more in the coming weeks. This is a short chapter, I know, but just a little something to remind you all that this fic is still ongoing. The next chapter I expect to be anywhere from 8k-10k words minimum and the chapters after that will hopefully be around an average of 8k words. Perhaps skewing longer actually, but it all depends of course.

More chapters sooner rather than later, I promise!


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